Mew Generations
by Kireina Maboroshi
Summary: What if you knew you would die for someone who would never love you? What if you knew the one you care about would be your worst enemy? Knowing the whole TMM story, yet being caught in it's real life replay. Part 1 of a 5 part series.
1. Chapter 1

_**Chapter 1: The Beginning**_

"Please read chapter 18 and have your analysis on Mr. Avery's business proposal prepared by Thursday."

Nagia Marie Johnston, mixed, light-skinned African-American girl, 17, finishes packing up her netbook and heads out the door. _Why do I always do this to myself? AP Business? With AP English, AP Calculus, AP Physics, and AP Chemistry? I'm positively mad... _

Suddenly, she feels something bump into her, _"_Ow!" She turns to see a dirty basketball roll away. She looks up as two basketball studs wave sorry to her.

"Sorry, Nagia!" She turns around to see Andrew Parker, captain of the basketball team and all around most gorgeous thing she'd ever laid eyes on lean down to grab the ball. Nagia immediately turns redder than a cherry.

"Oh no no! It's fine!" _He knows my name!_ "Don't worry about it! Good luck tonight against Lakewood!"

He looks up at her and smiles, "Thanks." He glances down for a second before taking a deep breath, "Ya know, Nag-" he looks up, but she is already several feet away. He watches her almost bump into a door before escaping around the corner.

Nagia races to her locker. She stares at it for a second before banging her head against it, much to the surprise of a nearby group of girls. _Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! He knows who I am. Wait... ok. Stop. Don't let yourself get out of control. A boyfriend is the last thing you need. _She opens her locker.

_Boyfriend! __**inner squeal **_She bangs her head on the open door. The girls stare in silence. _Ack! I can't get all happy! He's WAY out of my league, I don't have time if I want to be an extremely successful businesswoman, and … _She lifts her head and starts loading her bookbag. _he is too cute... and sweet... and generous... and athletic... he's perfect... _She freezes for a second, calc book in hand. _Why does such distracting eye-candy have to exist! _She bangs her head once and forces the book in her bag. _Focus, Nagia! Don't get your hopes up again..._Nagia stands up, slams her door, grabs her bag, and heads down the hallway.

A few moments later, Nagia exits her car and heads into the library. She climbs a flight of stairs and settles in her favorite corner before opening her bag. Just as she pulled out her business book, she feels a prick on the left side of her neck. She hits it, thinking it is a bug, and feels a furry plastic piece instead. She pulls it out and stares at it. She immediately recognized it from the nature documentaries. _Tranqui- _The world went black.

Nagia awoke with a start. She was in a car. She could hear other vehicles passing, but she wasn't moving at all. She felt fabric in her mouth and tape and drool around her lips. She tried to move, but her arms are tied behind her back. She panics and lets out a soft whimper.

"Oh! You're awake!" said a high feminine voice. A masked face peered around the driver's seat. "I'd tell you not to worry, but heh... don't think that's gonna mean anything. Anywho, nothing dangerous happened to you. You've been picked to save the planet."

_Oh Lord, I've often been horrible to my sister, but please get me out of this one! This woman is a lunatic..._

"Ha! I can totally read your expression right now. You think I've lost it. Perhaps. But my master... hmm... how do I explain this... My master can see the future. A couple years ahead, in fact. He predicted a few years ago that you are going to save the world, but only if we give you the powers to do so. So, we've given you powers."

_Oh God. Please, please! I promise I will never ever ever ever complain about Lillian again! Or Mom. You will never see us fight as long as I live!_

"It probably doesn't help that you're all tied up, but if we didn't, Master says you'd have bolted, told the cops, sounded like a lunatic, and blah blah blah... destroyed the world. So, listen carefully and I'll let you free. And, you'll probably never see me again. Well, at least in the next couple years... Ever see Spiderman? Like how he was bitten by a radioactive spider and got powers? Well, you weren't bitten, but you were zapped with radiation... and other stuff... Anyway, you can now transform and fight evil! Get it?"

Nagia nods slowly. _Why isn't this a dream?_

"Ok!" She quickly sets to removing Nagia's bindings. "By the way, you're mom and dad were called to" she makes air quotes, " 'urgent business', so they have no idea you were even gone. And we know your sister has volleyball." She finishes untying Nagia and removes the gag.

"What-" Nagia starts.

"No questions! Bye bye! Shoe!"

"Hold on. This is ridiculous. I'm not leaving until-" Nagia starts.

"Yes you are. I said, 'Bye bye!' " The masked woman teleports in front of Nagia and pushes her out of the car.

Nagia falls on the ground violently and watches as the car suddenly vanishes. _What the... that didn't just... if it did, then I must...oh crap... _


	2. Chapter 2

_**Chapter 2: Her Powers**_

_I have powers... no... I must be crazy... hallucination is more likely than teleportation... People don't teleport... it is just one of those things that doesn't happen. It just doesn't... I don't need to think about this! I have classes to prepare for! A bright future full of glamour and travel and eating at the finest restaurants! … oh reality... where hath thou gone? Thou hast recently left me! ... _Nagia plops on her bed and buries herself in blankets.

"Nagia! Breakfast!"

_I didn't sleep! I didn't sleep a wink! And I have a test today... Wah! _She turns over and buries her face_…. Why? _She begins to punch her pillow. "Why oh why oh why..."

Finally, she brings herself out of bed. As she does, she looks over at her dresser and sees a golden metalic oval with a pink heart. She picks it up and inspects it, also noticing her red wrists.

"Nagia!" her mom calls from downstairs, "Your pancakes are getting cold!"

"Coming!" she yells as she slips the gold piece in her pocket. She races to the bathroom and tightly wraps her arms in bandages before throwing on a baggy long-sleeved shirt over her clothes.

She frowns at her arms. _They really didn't have to tie me up so rough..._ She sighs, knowing her arms are the evidence of the reality of the strange experience. She heads down the hall. _If only she didn't teleport! Now I have no idea WHAT to tell the police... They will just think I'm a total nutcase... she knew! She knew I couldn't have them thinking I've gone mad... Ugh!_

She descends the stairs, somehow comforted by the smell of her mom's slightly-burnt flapjacks.

After school, Nagia avoids the library, and drives to the park. The day was your average quiet fall day, too typical to be the day following a teleporting masked woman in a taxi.

Nagia sits on a bench and finds herself and a couple of children playing in their driveway across the street to be the only ones around. She leans back and lets her head hang over the top of the bench, staring at the stars and letting the sun bathe her face in hot light. She felt dead. Exhausted, beaten from the test, and mentally pooped from replaying yesterday evening. She'd tried a bazillion ways to convince herself that a taxi could not just disappear, but every time she began to believe it never happened, all she had to do was look at her wrists to believe in the whole situation once again.

On an ever shortening fuse, Nagia sits down on a swing and begins to pump her legs. Higher and higher she goes, imagining her day as if yesterday had never happened. Imagining that she wouldn't have been distracted at gym and cost her side the game. Imagining that she wouldn't have used the word, "teleportacion" instead of "transportacion" in Spanish and saved her a mound of embarrassment. She would have eaten her lunch and thereby wouldn't feel so blah right now...

She wanted to tell someone about the experience, but who? Who would believe she wasn't hallucinating once she tells them she was kidnapped by a masked woman at a public library? She felt trapped, and for the first time in her life, wished she had spent more time cultivating friendships and talking with her family than becoming valedictorian.

She gets off the swing and walks restlessly back to the bench. She stands in front of it, staring at her bookbag for only a moment before she gives her cheeks a good, hard slap. _This is the life I have put so much energy to achieving, and I will not let it all go to waste! Powers or no powers. Masked woman or no masked woman._

Just as she reaches out to snatch the bag, she hears a loud thud. She spins around to see three big men surrounding a smaller guy wearing raggedy clothes and appearing homeless, who lay on the ground, clutching his side. Anger wells up in Nagia, but she grabs her bag, and hides behind the nearest tree, afraid she'll be seen and beaten too.

From there, she hears yelling, but can't make out the words. Nagia grabs her cellphone, dials 9-1-1, and reports the problem as she watches the man get beaten over and over.

The call ends just as she sees the man make a break for it. He's fast for someone who was just beaten, but he is quickly overtaken. He struggles against two of the men while the other looks around. His eyes set on a metal pipe.

_No! Oh please... let me have powers! Let her be right! _The biggest guy picks up the pipe and starts walking towards the group. _Please! I want the power to help him!_

Her pocket begins to glow. She pulls out the golden piece. Instinctively, she puts it over her heart and yells, "Mew Mew Strawberry! Me-ta-mo-ri-fo-sis!" In an instant, she feels her body strengthen, her eyesight sharpen, and her energy multiply. She watches the golden piece move in front of her and attach to her neck.

She dashes over to the beaten man. The three bullies look at her for a moment, then bust into laughter. She catches her reflection in the metal pipe.

_Pink frilly dress! Long black tail! Cat ears! And my hair is pink! THIS is what she meant by "I have powers"! This isn't right! … This is not cool..._

She looks down to see the injured man staring at her, not knowing how to take his "savior".

She looks over to two of the bullies who are laughing so hard they seem to be losing their balance. The one with the pipe walks over, unamused. He smacks them both, and stands in front of Nagia.

"Who the h- do you think you are?" He grabs her by the collar.

"Let me go." She says, mustering up fake dignity. _Nagia, you are a superhero... you still count as a superhero... Why don't I ever just study at home?... "_And leave this man alone!"

He pulls her closer, "You should stay out of business that has nothing to do with you."

"I don't like how you are treating him." Nagia responded, indignant. _Now I've done it...Ctrl Z! _"I will tell you one more time. Let. Him. Go."

"No." He pushes her to the side, and winds up his pipe. He motions to the other goons, "Hold her back. We'll have this pretty little p- pay his loan if he can't." He winds up his pipe. The homeless man cowers, covering his bruised side.

Nagia pushes the lackeys away as if they weighed nothing and stops the pipe with her left hand before it reaches him. She then punches the leader in the face with her right, sending him reeling back in shock. He shields his face, and his nose begins to bleed through his fingers. "You b-! Kill her!"

Nagia freezes for a second, shocked at her strength. She quickly snaps out of it as the men race toward her. She leaps up seamlessly, more confident in her abilities, and saults over them, giving them swift knockout kicks to the head before landing gracefully on her feet. For a moment, she stares at the leader to see if he will also attack. He stares back, still bleeding for a few seconds before Nagia moves to tend to the injured man. The man thanks her and asks her to help him up.

Just as she gets him to his feet, Nagia hears a click behind her. She turns around just in time to see a gun fly from the leader's hands next to her feet. He screams as he clutches his bleeding hand. Not far from the gun lay an arrow. Nagia looks around, but sees no one.

Just then, the police and ambulance arrive. The medics take him to a gurney, not without a few odd glances at her outfit, which Nagia tries unsuccessfully to ignore. Red as a beet, she quickly answers a few questions about what transpired, and excuses herself when questions about her identity come into play. She leaps off tree to tree pulling her book bag as the three men are taken by the police.

_Yay! I saved a homeless dude! … but... in a pink frilly dress... cool points... 0..._ She continues racing for a few miles, more so from embarrassment than to throw the police off her trail. Finally, she stops in an alley. She leans against a brick wall, and sits on the ground to wallow in shame.

"Ha! You're the Mew Ichigo? Kinda weak to be our leader... but, brave. I'll give you that," said a voice around the corner.

"Are you the one who shot the arrow?" Nagia responds while slowly turning her head, to ashamed to care.

A Caucasian girl wearing a black jumpsuit with a blue scarf, belt, and ribbons, a giant bluebird's tail and hair in two buns, and the same golden piece around her neck comes into view, hand outstretched. "You can call me Minto."


	3. Chapter 3

_**Chapter 3: Minto**_

Nagia stands up, and dusts off her bum. "Thank you for saving me." She shakes Minto's hand and gives her a once over. "Why does your outfit look so much cooler than mine?"

She shruggs, trying unsuccessfully to conceal her pride, "Whatever is the last thing you wore in this form is what you will wear the next time you transform. Simply stated, change your clothes, and that will be what you transform into." She turns to Nagia, "And, I've gotta say, I advise you to do that ASAP" she starts laughing. "I can't seriously fight alongside you like this!"

Nagia glares at her. _Somehow I know she's my comrade, but..._

"Oh sorry..." she continues laughing. "Sorry..." She stops for a second and busts up laughing even harder.

"I'll wait."

A few moments pass. "Ooh. Ok. Ok. I'm good. I am so glad I got to see this. You have really made my day." Minto wipes tears from her eyes. "It would look cute on you, but you.. well... you look like the mature studious type, and... well... frilly just isn't your-" she busts up laughing again.

_I said I wanted a friend, but perhaps I should have been more specific... _

Nagia starts, "I know it doesn't look good on me! I'm 17 after all... so, please help me..."

"I'll have you one made to match mine. It'll be ready tomorrow." Minto hands her a card with a phone number.

Nagia takes the card, slightly impressed that this young girl who seems slightly younger than she has one. She turns it over. "No name? I'm just supposed to call you Minto?"

"Yep. And I won't ask who you are, Ichigo. We don't need to know anymore than how to contact one another." She turns away and walks forward a few paces, probably for emphasis.

"Which means you must have some reason to hide your identity. Like you are some major rich girl or big shot in something?"

Minto freezes for a moment. "No- I just think it would be better, you know... in case someone slips in the field and our identities are exposed..."

"Ah... I see." Nagia gives her a look. "Anyway, I imagine you found yourself tied up in a car after being knocked out somewhere?"

"No. Actually, about a week ago, a masked woman came into my room, and knocked me out. When I awoke, I was in the same place, but only sitting across from her in front of tea. Naturally, I panicked, but she explained the situation, and told me how to transform," Minto crosses her arms, "I was suddenly in a very short blue dress... I told the woman under no circumstance was a proper lady going to fight crime in such attire. At first, she protested, insisting her Master had an obsession with Tokyo Mew Mew and wanted the world to be saved by the Mew Mew's... to which I could naturally only stare quite confused... She then caught herself, and told me what I told you, about transforming clothes."

"Tokyo Mew Mew? What the heck is that?"

"A Japanese anime. Apparently the man behind our transforming is what they call, an 'otaku', or an avid fan."

Nagia stares blankly. "Ah... I see... Why do I suddenly feel like fighting gangsters in a tutu is the least of my problems?"

"Because it is," Minto responded matter-of-factly. "Tokyo Mew Mew is comprised of 5 members. Ichigo, Minto, Retasu, Purin, and Zakuro. We need to find the other three. Then, at least in the manga, the girls save the world from aliens."

"Oh yeah... aliens... why am I not surprised...and...you did say, 'Our leader'...YOU MEAN ME!"

"Though I am beginning to doubt your qualifications, yes. Mew Ichigo is the leader." Minto thinks for a second as Nagia slaps her own head. "Then again, denseness helped her save the world. Perhaps it will help you too." Minto brings her hand to her face and pretends to lean on it studiously.

Nagia glares at her again, "Oh thanks..."

The two sit against the wall as Nagia writes out her contact information on a scrap piece of paper.

Nagia asks, "So, you implied I'm similar to Ichigo. Are you similar to Minto?"

"In most ways, you really aren't similar to Ichigo. I'd say this is closer to an eccentric man's random decision to have his favorite characters come to life than the presence of actual genuine usefulness when it comes to being Mew Mews as opposed to simply having powers, though I could be wrong. Only time will tell."

_Who is this girl calling eccentric?_

The two sit for a while, facing the opposite wall.

Nagia breaks the silence, "How do you feel?" Minto faces her. "I mean, about having these powers. If we have to save the world..."

Minto sighs, and faces forward again. "I'm scared. It was almost like I could just call it an interesting game before I met another one like me. If you exist, the others must too... and the threat to our world must be real." she turns to Nagia, "If this was something more trivial than the fate of the world, I wouldn't let you lead. You seem incompetent."

"Ya know... -"

"I just don't want that big of a decision to ride on my shoulders."

"This conversation is going down hill..."

Minto gets up and starts to walk away. "Face the other way. I'm going to detransform. You should too. Call that number at tomorrow, and we'll meet to search for the other members."

Nagia gets up and faces the other direction, "Don't you look like you usually do? Just with more blue?"

"You haven't properly looked at your reflection, have you?"

"I was a bit too discouraged by a side glance of it..."

"Take a look some time. You'll be surprised."

"Ok. And, I'll call you." Nagia removes the necklace from her neck and feels the strength leave her body.

"Ichigo," Minto says softly.

"Yes?"

"I don't think you are incompetent. I didn't see your true form, but I was also there, watching him... I didn't trust my power... and I didn't save him... your bravery caught me off guard. So, I can see why you were chosen as Ichigo."

Nagia turns around, but Minto has already gone. She puts the golden jewel in her pocket, and hails a taxi home, weighted by the immanent future, but warmed by her new friend.


	4. Chapter 4

_**Chapter 4: Retasu**_

Nagia enters the school exhausted from watching Tokyo Mew Mew episodes all night long online. She sees a group of freshmen run past her and join a large crowd of students.

"Ooooh," they coo. Then all at once, "Fight! Fight! Fight Fight!"

Teachers struggle to plow through the crowd. Reluctantly, the students let them through. Out from the center is dragged a tall red-headed girl and a pretty Indian girl, wearing large glasses.

Nagia recognized her as Ahimsa from her first class. _Poor girl... always bullied..._ Ahimsa's older brothers were handsome and all had I.Q.s of over 150, but somehow she missed the gene. That never seemed to stop her from working hard and getting some of the top grades in her class, though the amount of time she spent studying took a toll on her social skills. Coupling that with her bifocals, gave her the label "Urkella" (after Urkel), and licensed the biggest bullies in the school to pick on her.

Ahimsa really was a nice girl, but no one dared to befriend her for any other reason than to hit on her brothers.

Nagia sits down at her desk, and reviews the lesson. Technically, she didn't really have to, as she'd studied it a week ago so she could concentrate on her English paper this week, but she wanted to take her mind off of Ahimsa, and the burning question, _Does being a superhero mean saving people like her too?_ Nagia had already blown off everyone who wanted to befriend her in favor of studying. The only reasons she wasn't bullied were her above-average looks, and her status as the smartest student in the school. Other students needed her for homework help and advice. Even so, her lack of popularity couldn't take any hits.

"Nagia," Nagia turns around to see Andrew.

"Y-Yes?" _Hold on! My heart isn't ready!_ _He looks so good in that uniform... Oh, School! I love thee!..._

"I'm hear you're the person to ask when it comes to physics. I completely bombed the last test. Would you study with me this weekend?"

_His face is so close to mine! He- What! _"What?"

"Would you meet me at the library to study this weekend?"

"The library is... uh..."

"Hmm?"

"That's fine," Nagia smiles. _The last thing I need is to be paranoid... _

"Thanks. How's 3:00 on Saturday?"

"Perfect! See you then!"

Andrew waves and walks to his seat as the teacher comes in.

_Eek! I have to get a new wardrobe! I'm studying with Andrew! Maybe he likes me! … silly girl... it is probably just cause I've got the highest scores... But, maybe he'll come to like me!_

"Miss Johnston?," a voice interrupts Nagia's happy fantasy.

"Yes, Mr. Crane?"

"The answer?"

The class snickers.

"Uh... which question was it?"

"Number 4."

She fumbles to find the page, "It's 8 Joules."

"Very good. Please try to pay attention in class. Next, Mr. Harris. Number 5?"

Nagia blushes and sinks down in her seat. _In front of __Andrew?...no..._

The bell could not have been more welcome. Nagia scurried toward the exit as fast as she could go. As she rounded the corner to leave the room, Ahimsa came rushing in. The two collided, spreading books and notebooks everywhere.

"Oh! I'm so sorry!" Ahimsa apologized profusely, "I am so sorry. I shouldn't have been rush-"

"Oh no! It's my fault." Nagia reaches out and picks up the manga _Tokyo Mew Mew_. On the front are 5 girls, two whose outfits she recognizes as Minto's and her own. Ahimsa catches her staring at it and snatches it. With a hurried "thank you", she rushes over to the teacher. Nagia looks back at her. _Could she be?_

At lunch Nagia sat with the cheerleaders. She usually sat with the popular crowd as someone always seemed to need help on some subject or another. Today, it was the cheerleading co-captain Lindsay, an adorable Chinese freshman. Not saying the girl isn't brilliant. Her brilliance just doesn't lie in book smarts. She can motivate a fish to travel the Sahara. A true people person, her skills bring out abilities in people they didn't know they had.

Each lunch hour, Nagia heard the day's school gossip from pretty much the sources of it. But, today was different.

"Did you hear about the pool? Apparently Karmen almost drowned. She's currently in the hospital!" one cheerleader with pigtails asked.

"Oh! And Karmella suddenly developed a fear of the water in second period."

_Karmen and Karmella? The worst of the bullies who pick on Ahimsa..._

"Yeah! In junior high, she was on the swim team, though. I wonder if she had cramps," another cheerleader with heavy makeup responded.

"No, I have gym class with her," a cheerleader wearing chandelier earrings responded, "she sat out last week for her period."

"And I swam with her on the team," another with a loud bracelet chimed in. "She knows not to eat before swimming."

"Excuse me," Nagia chimed in, "You just asked if they'd heard about the pool. Normally people ask if they've heard about the person who got hurt. What about the pool?"

"Apparently, it became a whirlpool!" pigtails responded. "There was only one witness, and she said the pool literally plucked her off the side and pulled her under!"

_Retasu. This is just like episode 3. It has to be our third member._ Nagia pulls out her cell phone under the table and sends a quick text to Minto. Minto calls her back immediately. Nagia quickly excuses herself and heads off outside.

"Minto! I think I know where to find Retasu."

"Seriously? I'm coming right now. Where are you?"

"If you won't tell me anything about yourself, I'm not too keen on you knowing anything about me! I'll take care of it. I'm pretty sure I know her true form too."

"It could be dangerous! If she is already using her secondary power-"

"Secondary power?"

"We don't just have one form, Ichigo! I found mine today when I battled a purse-snatcher. We can transform again. And this one lets us use an element. Ichigo, we aren't just Mew Mews. We've been given layers of powers. She is too powerful for the form you use now!"

"What did you do to find yours?"

"... I want to come too."

"Stop acting like a child! How old are you anyway?"

"You don't ask that question to a lady!"

"Tell me or I'll go in like this!"

"No!"

"I'm not tolerating you acting like a spoiled brat. Someone almost drowned because of her! Do you want that kind of thing on your conscience?"

" 'Ichigo Henshin,'" Minto hangs up.

_Now... how in the world do I catch her?_

Nagia stands for a second beside the sink. _How do I make her come to the pool again?_ She pulls out a piece of paper and begins to write furiously before racing out the bathroom. She walks right by Ahimsa as another group passes and drops the note behind her lunch. In a few minutes, Ahimsa starts to clean up and notices the note. She opens it, immediately scoops up her stuff, gets up, and angrily throws it away before storming out of the lunch room.

_Now I've done it..._

"_Ahimsa, I have what you've done to Karmella and Karmen on video. Come to the pool at 3:30pm with $500 and I won't tell a soul for a month."_

3:26pm

Nagia stands by the pool and takes a deep breath, "Ichigo Henshin." Her body changes again. She wears a black skirt with a pink belt, black boots with a pink ribbon, and the golden piece is on her left hand. Her hair is not pink, but long and black with pink accents. She still has her black cat ears and tail, and her eyes are pink.

_Oh yeah... my reflection..._

She looks in the water. _Woah_. She looks like a different version of herself. Alike, but yet different enough that she wouldn't be recognized. She touches the water and concentrates. Instantly, it bubbles. Steam rises. She stands up and turns over her palms. Flames rise from them.

"You're the one who is bribing me, Dark Ichigo?" Retasu asks incredulously.

Nagia turns around to see a similarly-dressed person with green accents and two long white streamers from her hair. Her hair is black with green accents and held back in one braid.

"Retasu..."

"I gather you are from this school," she angrily quipps, "I'm not only angry because you're trying to blackmail me, but also because you know who I am and you've never helped me."

"I -" _She's right. The blackmail may be fake, but I never helped her._

"I saw you trying out your powers, which means you just found them. It also means I get to enjoy taking you down." She leaps forward. Nagia leaps back and shoots fire balls at her. Each one goes out in steam. "I will make you suffer like I have every day of my life!"

Nagia ducks a spear made of water. It smashes through brick splattering it everywhere.

_I should have told Minto!_

Nagia feels a dull pressure plow into her back as she is pushed into a wall of water. She struggles to get free.

_I am going to die. I'm the one that acted like a spoiled brat. Why didn't I tell Minto? I can't fight her alone... I'm really going to die!_

The wall of water dropped, and Nagia dropped to the ground.

"Ichigo our leader? You're weak. You are so d- weak! You wouldn't even have the ability to blackmail me!" Retasu raises a mountain of water. Nagia looks at Retasu in the eyes, but doesn't see the expected malice. _Tears?_

_Retasu... I want to rescue you..._

Nagia feels a heat rise deep inside her. Retasu throws the wall back against her, but Nagia turns it all into steam. She begins to move toward Retasu. Retasu moves back, throwing water walls, bullets, anything she can think of against Nagia, but without success. Retasu gets pinned against a wall. She looks left and right, but realizes she cannot escape.

"I'm sorry, Ahimsa. I should have befriended you. I was wrong. I was a horrible coward, only thinking about myself, and now I regret it so much..."

Retasu detransforms into Ahimsa and sinks to the ground, sobbing, "I'm sorry... I-"

Nagia also detransforms and hugs her. At that moment, Dark Minto rushes in. Seeing the pool half empty, she figured out who was who and what was what. She sighs emotionally defeated.

"Oh goodness... We weren't supposed to get that involved with each other..." She detransforms into a cute, plump girl wearing designer clothes, arms folded, pouting.

"Ah! You are the archery champion Iva Martin!" Ahimsa exclaims.

"Ah. So you are a big shot at something," Nagia snickers.

"Shut up," Iva half pouts half smiles. She looks around and folds her hands. "I'll take care of the clean up and cover up..." she pulls out her cell phone.

"Welcome to the team, Retasu," Nagia says.

"Thank you," Ahimsa smiles.


	5. Chapter 5

_**Chapter 5: Purin **_

"Go Falcons, go Falcons, go!" the squad cheered in unison.

"That's it,girls! Jamie! Hold your leg higher! Danny! Stay 30 min after practice every day this week for more weight training! You can't even lift a girl! And you call yourself a man!" cheer captain Dana barks. She turns to Lindsay and Nagia, "Is she getting' it? We need her for the top of the pyramid at Saturday's game."

"I'll get it, Dana! Promise! I won't let the team down!" Lindsay smiles energetically.

"Ok, Lindsay. I'm holdin' ya to it! Ace that test, girl!" Dana turns to the squad, "Ok, I'm comin'!" She executes a perfect cartwheel and backflip before being lifted to the top of the pyramid. "Stop shakin' down there! Practice liftin' me, and you can definitely lift Lindsay!"

"Lindsay, honestly... uh... I don't know-" Nagia starts reluctantly.

"I can do it! I'll study extra tonight. You'll see. With your help and my hard work, I will totally ace this test and get off probation." Lindsay smiles, "Have a little faith in me. Now, show me again how to finish this part?"

Soon, Iva and Ahimsa walk in.

"Lindsay, sorry, but I promised I'd hang with Ahimsa and Iva today. We've been working for an hour, perhaps a break would help anyway."

"Sorry we didn't get through that much. Meet here tomorrow?"

"Ok. Same time." Nagia stands up.

"Thank you!"

Nagia rushes over to Iva and Ahimsa.

"Wow," Ahimsa marvels, "You hang out with the cheer squad..."

"Trust me. It isn't all it's cracked up to be," Nagia says as she motions them to follow her. "Let's go to the cafeteria."

At the cafeteria, the girls take a seat.

"So, how did you find us anyway?" Nagia asks.

"This is the only high school in the same district as the park we met in." replies Iva.

"Oh..."

Awkward pause.

"So... three down... two left," Ahimsa says slightly cheerful.

"Purin and Zakuro...," states Nagia..

Iva responds, "Well, we know Zakuro is going to be quite trying..."

"Oh yeah, that's true. You'd be our best link to her identity. Perhaps, do you already know who she is?" asks Nagia, leaning in.

"If she is the one celebrity I actually admire..."

"Yes, yes?" Ahimsa and Nagia say in unison.

"She'd be Sofia Estrella," Iva says sheepishly.

"Aw man! It would be just like you to admire someone THAT out of reach!" Nagia bangs her head against the table.

"My aunt works for her. Perhaps she could get us a connection." Ahimsa chimes in.

"No way!" Iva yells, "Are you kidding! Are you kidding me! Oh my..."

"Wow. I didn't think anyone could make her hyperventilate," Nagia whispers to Ahimsa. The two giggle as they watch Iva panic.

Back at cheer practice, Lindsay crumples up a piece of paper. Her eyes begin to sting. She quickly rises, "Be right back!" she yells cheerfully as she races across the gym and out the door.

Once outside, she begins to run, hoping the wind would dry off her flowing tears.

"You're one of them. I smell it." A voice came from above.

Lindsay stops and looks up. She sees a floating man with slit eyes. "How are you doing that?" she asks.

"You'll be dead soon, so you don't need to know." He races toward her, but she ducks.

"You've caught me in a VERY bad mood." Lindsay angrily wipes her tears, "Mew Mew Purin! Me-ta-mo-ri-fo-sis!"

"Oh my! Aren't we cute. A widdle baby monkey. But, this ain't your typical Tokyo Mew Mew. Call me Kishu if you like, but I'm no alien. I've read the manga, and you have no idea what my power is. And you won't because by the time you know, you'll be dead."

"You talk too much." Purin runs at him, "Purin ring! Inferno!"

He easily dodges and watches the attack fly past him, "Are you that dumb? I know everything you-" He looks around. "Where did she... OW!" He feels something hard hit his hid, and he lands on the ground.

She lands next to him, "Don't think you're the only one with an upgrade."

BAM!

The Pudding Ring Inferno hit the school.

She turns to look, "Oh crap"

"Ha! Now you've done it!" laughs Kishu. He easily throws her off. "You're too fun!"

BAM!

"Mew Mews! Move!" Nagia orders.

"Ichigo Henshin!"

"Minto Henshin!"

"Retasu Henshin!"

The three race outside and watch their comrade arm wrestling a floating man.

"Mew Purin!" they chime as they race toward her.

"Ok, as much as I'd love to see how you take responsibility for that disaster, my orders are to kill you." Kisshu quips.

"Bring it on!" Purin takes a stance.

The two dash toward one another. Kishu throws rounds of daggers as Purin skillfully avoids them, while throwing a few Infernos herself. The two seem at first to be at a standstill until an arrow catches Kisshu off guard. It slices through his arm as a blow of water knocks him off his feet and pushes him toward a layer of fire.

The three Mews land next to Mew Purin.

"You all are Mew Mews? What's with your outfits?" Purin questions.

Seeing Kisshu right himself and face them, Nagia yells, "We'll explain later. He's coming!"

Just as the Mews create a joint attack, another being steps in front of Kisshu and absorbs it in his cape. The being was black, cloaked in a dark velvet with a hollow opening simply showing two glowing eyes. A hand emerges from the darkness and strikes him so hard he hits the ground and bounces twice before landing to the sound of a loud crack.

"You may have been their opponent in the manga, but you are nothing now. Next time I will not save you."

The girls could only watch, astounded by the power of this new being.

He turns to the girls, "I am Vortex. Simply stated, I am a black hole. I can make you all lost in space and time for all of eternity, and I am the least of your troubles. Twas nice to meet you, ladies. Farewell." He bows, scoops up Kisshu, and moves toward the forest to join several hundred other creatures whom the girls had not even noticed before.

Long after the group left, the girls still stood there, mouths open.

Finally, Nagia speaks, "Ok, so we need to get stronger."

"I'm scared. I have never been so frightened. He... we combined our attacks and..." Retasu whines.

"We've always fought little battles. Ones against normal humans. There is a whole different level out there... And we are supposed to be able to fight against that..." Minto laments. "I-"

"Now don't give up before we've started! We haven't even been united as all 5 Mew mews yet!" Purin chimes in, cheerfulness faulting.

"She's right. We are not just going to let one battle scare us into not even trying. We were clearly stronger than Kisshu. That's one down. And maybe there are more who are about AS strong as Kisshu. Maybe these super strong ones like Vortex are few and far between." Nagia encourages.

"But we'll still have to fight them..." Retasu says softly. "Can we fight someone like that?"

"Is this the extent of our determination? Think about it! What if we give up? What happens to our planet? Giving up is not an option. Starting Monday, we fight. Every morning, 4AM. Be here. This very field where we experienced our first defeat. In this field, we will become stronger and take on Vortex again, with a fool-proof plan." Nagia encourages. "Please. We know good an well we can't do this if we aren't all together. I promise I'll research black holes and whatnot myself. Just work with me."

"Wow. You've actually become leader-like. Well, I'm in," Minto shruggs.

"Me too!" Purin jumps in.

Retasu nods reluctantly.


	6. Chapter 6

_**Chapter 6: Their True Strength**_

(In Iva's mega mansion)

"No! Don't touch me!" Sofia Estrella turns away from the tall, dark, and handsome actor. "Not with those hands that touched her..."

He grabs her, and she turns to him. "Kiss me," he coos. She does, and the credits roll.

Tears stream down Iva's face. "See?" she sniffles, "Wasn't that beautiful?" She points to the screen with one hand and grabs another tissue with the other as she turns to her guests.

Ahimsa quickly stuffs her face with popcorn.

"It certainly was... something..." Lindsay remarks. She looks at the clock. "I uh... gotta get back home."

"But we haven't helped you at all for your test. It's tomorrow, and I think you could use a bit more study time." Nagia remarks.

Lindsay pauses for a second, then faces them with a smile, "I'll do fine! And thanks, Iva for covering for me on the school damage. I promise I'll pay you back!" She dashes out of the room.

Iva sniffles.

Nagia pauses for a second, "You guys, what if her life is just like the manga Purin's?"

Ahimsa swallows the popcorn, "I'd feel so bad for her if she has to study while taking care of younger siblings."

Iva wipes her eyes and blows hard into a tissue. "Let's follow her home. I'm sure she'd appreciate us taking care of the siblings while she studies."

They rise, put on their shoes, and head out the door.

Lindsay cries on the way back. She cries so much her vision clouds and she trips on the sidewalk. "Ah!" she holds her bleeding knee. "I don't have money for more bandages..." At first, she tries to lift herself up, but after a second, she just sits there sobbing.

"Lindsay!" she hears behind her. She wipes her eyes, and turns to see the other three mews coming her way.

"Just tripped! I'm-" tears begin to fall as she welcomes the arms that surround her. She buries her head in Ahimsa's chest, sobbing hard. After a few minutes, they help her up and walk to her house. No one else is in the house, but it is dirty, and there are photos all around of children and presumably a mother and father.

"They're dead," Lindsay admits. "I would have gone with them to the movies, but I had cheerleading. A truck killed them a couple months ago." she gives them a half-hearted smile. "I know you must have come because you think I'm like Purin. Well, I'm not. I'm -" the tears start to fall again.

Nagia picks up a broom while Iva grabs a duster.

"What are you doing?" Lindsay inquires, still holding onto Ahimsa.

Ahimsa smiles at her, "You may not need help taking care of a hundred siblings, but you could still use some help around the house. You've also endured a lot."

Ahisma leads her to the living room, sits on the couch, and lets Lindsay lay on her lap as she strokes her hair. She begins to sing a song from India.

Nagia and Iva clean the house, carefully moving the photos to an album. As they reach the upstairs, they find men's and children's clothes strewn all around the rooms. The only bed that does not look slept in is the one behind the door labeled Lindsay in pink cursive lettering.

In a couple hours, it's all clean, and Iva and Nagia rejoin Lindsay and Retasu. They find Lindsay snoring softly on her lap, deep in sleep.

Ahimsa motions she will stay there the night and hands Nagia her cell phone to call her family as Iva fetches a pillow and large blanket. Once Ahimsa is comfortable, Nagia and Iva quietly leave.

"I got a B+!" Lindsay yells to her squad and the mews waiting for her in the gym the next day. "Yay!" She hugs each of the mews, whispering a "thank you" in their ears.

"Now that that crisis is over, time for another," Iva glares at Nagia.

Nagia gulps, "About the exercise-"

"We understand we need it," Iva relents. "But you need a new outfit for your date tomorrow, right?"

"It's not a date!"Nagia interjects.

"Uh huh. A study DATE." Ahisma giggles.

Outnumbered, Nagia asks, "Ok... What should I wear?"

"Let's go shopping!" the three leave Lindsay to her cheers.

(Saturday)

_I can't believe they got me to wear this._ Nagia enters the library in a cute white skirt with leggings, high heel boots, a scarf, and a ruffled shirt. _This is way too flashy... I hope Andrew likes it..._

She sees him as soon as she enters. With a deep breath, she walks up to him. "Hey. Did you wait long?"

"No, I just got here. I've reserved one of the study rooms," he leads her to the back.

_The study rooms? That's notoriously where... No... not... but... No... Relax, Nagia... just study... What if he likes me-_

"This one," he opens the door and lets her pass through.

Nagia takes a seat.

"So, shall we start with chapter 12?" Nagia asks.

"Sounds good. I've been a little lost on that part." he responds.

(1 hour later)

_He picks things up so fast! He's like the perfect student! Perfect... In every way... _

BAM

_You've gotta be kidding. I know that sound... it is like an Inferno against a building..._

BAM

Andrew looks around, "What is that?"

"Uh... one second. I'll be back in just a minute." Nagia excuses herself and heads outside. She looks around the corner. As expected, Purin is trying to fight a- _Giant mammoth! With wings! And antennae... Oh crap...And they are in their first level forms... Of course as that's the form needed to defeat these... naturally... as I never picked up my alternate outfit... No no no no no!_

"Mew Mew Strawberry! Me-ta-mo-ri-pho-sis!"

_Oh crap crap crap! I'm in a frilly dress..._She runs to meet Purin just as Minto and Retasu arrive. Purin and Minto bust our laughing as Retasu struggles to stifle.

"Ha ha ha... my crush is here, so would you please focus! We've gotta fix this fast!"

Minto throws in a snide remark, "Got it, Captain Tutu!"

Nagia grits her teeth. "Oh you are so dead after this..." She faces the mammoth. "Minto! Echo the Inferno! Retasu, take the left. I've got the right! Move out!"

"Got it!" they chime.

"Mew Minto! Echo!"

"Purin Ring! Inferno!"

Minto's arrow magnifies the inferno and heads toward the beast. At first, it moves toward the left, but it stopped by a Retasu Rush. It moves to the right, but is stopped by a Strawberry Surprise. With a great leap, it flies up. It remains in the air for a second before facing Ichigo.

_Nagia, stand your ground. _

It starts moving towards her.

_Oh crap. _

It suddenly starts barreling toward her. Nagia turns and runs.

"Ichigo!" The other Mews scream terrified as Nagia tries to escape the flying stampede. The mammoth begins smashing its lengthened snout against the ground, creating giant indentations as it tries to squish Ichigo. She screams terrified.

_Wait... maybe if I enter the library..._

She rounds the corner of the building only to see Andrew standing right there, staring. Tears well up in Nagia's eyes from pure frustration.

She then feels a sharp hit on her left side as she is smashed by the trunk and then hit against the building. Her body plummits to the ground. Andrew looks at her frightened. Nagia begins to blank out. She hears Minto scream. On her right, she sees Andrew running toward her. To her left, a fast-approaching blurry blue-cloaked figure. Above her, the mammoth, baring down on her. She closes her eyes and scrunches up.

She waits. Nothing. No pain.

"Ichigo! Ichigo get up! Wake up, Ichigo!" Minto pushes her hard.

Nagia looks up into Minto's blue tear-filled eyes. "I'm ok, Minto. What happened?"

"Retasu and Purin are holding back the mammoth right now, but... You were saved by the Blue Knight." Minto helps Nagia up.

"Thanks," Nagia says as she reaches her feet. "I'm feeling better. Let's beat this thing!"

Minto smiles and nods.

Both leap into the air.

"Minto!" Nagisa yells and motions to her strawberry bell.

"Minto! Echo!" The arrow hits the bell and responates.

"Strawberry Surprise!" a burst of energy makes the mammoth dissipate into a billion pieces.

An applause breaks out. The Mews look around to see a crowd of television crews and onlookers had gathered.

"Who are you?" A woman with a microphone comes up to the girls.

"We're M-mews..." Ichigo stammers.

"We're you're protectors!" Minto chimes in.

Nagia finally finds her voice, "We'll keep everyone safe from any threats. I'm Ichigo."

"Minto," Minto steps up.

"Purin," she points to herself.

"Retasu," she gives a small bow and partially hides herself behind Ichigo.

"Well, thank you!" the reporter smiles, "this has been an W.O.W. Exclusive! You've seen it here first! The appearance of the Mews! Our superheroines!" The woman talks to the camera as the mews slink away.

Nagia leans over to Minto, "You were worried about me?" she whispers, happily.

"We can totally use this..." Minto ignores her as she pulls out her cell phone, embarrassed.

Nagia giggles happily, but stiffens with a start, "Uh oh! My study date!" Nagia dashes off.

"Does anyone else suddenly feel less comfortable that she is our leader?" Purin asks jokingly.


	7. Chapter 7

_**Chapter 7: The Blue Knight**_

Nagia detransforms and finds Andrew waiting outside of the closed library. She stands a distance away, watching.

_What can I tell him? He saw me as Ichigo... So many things have gone differently than the manga... Especially since now I know he isn't the Blue Knight... I can't trust he'll respond the same way. I want to just leave this whole Mew thing out of our relationship. Relationship... we don't have one... But... he did wait for me... would a guy wait this long for a girl they didn't like? _

She approaches him.

"I'm sorry... I-" She looks up at him, petrified of his expression. His eyes are sorrowful, but not angry.

"It's ok. It was an emergency, wasn't it?" he asks softly.

"Yes, it was." she responds. "Please, uh..."

"I was worried about you. There was that whole commotion and-" he pauses. "It was nice reviewing with you. Would you like me to take you home?"

_He doesn't know... I wish he knew... I wish he could know about everything... You aren't my Blue Knight, but I really like you... _

"Yes, please."

The two walk home in silence.

5:48am, Monday morning

"Don't give up! Keep running!" Nagia calls out, voice failing.

The four mews, covered in sweat, stumble through the field.

"I can't anymore! My legs hurt!" Retasu cries out.

"Stop complaining! You've seen them!" Minto stumbles, but quickly rights herself, "They treated us like we're nothing."

"You know why they didn't kill us, don't you? Because we're not worth killing. We're so weak they didn't even bother." Purin responded. "We're being laughed at, Retasu... Right now, we're meaningless."

Nagia raggedly leaped over a hole, "She's right. I feel sick that we haven't been training from the get go. If we are supposed to save the world, we can't just rely on these powers we were given. Purin trains every day and she couldn't even beat Kisshu, which means the rest of us have no chance."

"So suck it up, Retasu. We need you." Minto threatened, angrier at her weakness than Retasu's wining.

8:00AM, the girls collapsed on the ground. Students were beginning to come to school. After a brief rest, they got up and detransformed, limping to class.

"See you tomorrow," they pushed themselves to say, now knowing what hell awaited them as they went their separate ways.

At lunch, Nagia decided to eat outside. More than ever, she needed to be bathed in the suns light. As she lay out on the pavement, she envisioned her skin soaking up the sun's hot energy. She shut her eyes.

"Hmmm... so Mew Ichigo is all defenseless... what shall I do with her?" Nagia opens her eyes to find Kisshu hovering above her.

_How could I have let my guard down like this! And I'm to weak to fight him!_

She forced herself to her feet, unable to conceal her exhaustion.

"What do you want?" Nagia demanded, trying to sound strong.

"You don't have to pretend in front of me," he slinks closer, rubbing shoulders with her. He whispers in her ear, "I know you can't stop anything I want to do you... Honey." He nibbles her ear.

She pulls away losing her balance. She rights herself with sheer determination. "Ichigo Henshin!" Her aching body collapses under the extra muscular weight.

"Ha ha ha! So busy trying to get stronger, that you missed how weak you'd be now!" Kisshu slaps his knee. As if he were possessed, he floats toward her, taking her cheeks in his hands. "You really are beautiful, Ichigo." He pulls her face toward his own and puckers his lips.

"No..." Ichigo struggles unsuccessfully. She shuts her eyes tight.

THUD

Kisshu lets her head go and she catches herself. She opens her eyes to see a man in dark blue with a long blonde ponytail. _The Blue Knight! You've saved me again..._ she passes out.

Nagia wakes up to the sight of blowing trees. She moans and turns her head. The sun peeks through an opening and shines in her eyes. She rubs them and tries to get up.

"Careful," a soothing male voice tells her.

Her eyes jerk open, and she finds herself staring into the eyes of the Blue Knight.

"Did you have a nice nap?" he asks.

Nagia notices he is holding her. "Um..."

"Sorry. I didn't want you to fall."

"Fall?"she looks down. They were in a tree. She instinctively grabs onto him.

"Aren't you supposed to be a cat?" he chuckles.

She faces him again. _Wow... he's so gorgeous... His hair looks so soft... His eyes... so beautiful... Oh crap... I'm staring..._ She touches her face. It's hot. She clears her throat. "I'd like to get down now."

He helps her down.

Nagia turns away from him. "Thank you, Blue Knight," Nagia says, trying to cover her quivering voice.

"You do know I'm here to protect you, right?" he asked. Nagia could hear some tender feeling in his words. "I have these powers because of you."

Nagia remains staring in the opposite direction. _As hot as you may be, unless you are Andrew, I'm not interested. I can't afford to be interested. _"Thank you, but I already have someone I like." She walks away as quickly as she can.

"I won't stop protecting you." she hears him say behind her. Her ears get hot. She breaks into a sprint.


	8. Chapter 8

_**Chapter 8: One Step Forward, Two Steps Back**_

Later at Iva's mansion, Nagia tells what transpired at school to the Mews:

"You lucky girl!" Ahimsa coos.

Iva goes straight for the jugular, "Why did you tell him that, you idiot!"

"I have bad luck with men. We already know he isn't Andrew. He probably just thinks I'm interesting because I'm a Mew Mew..." Nagia tries to convince herself.

"That's rediculous..." Iva folds her arms. "And you know it. It is so lame it isn't Andrew... But come on! The dude practically CONFESSED to you! And Andrew blew you off at the end of your last date! Give up on the normal guy. Take the Knight!"

"But I have feelings for _Andrew_. I want to see this through," Nagia responds, faltering.

Lindsay, who had been watching episode 47 of Tokyo Mew Mew jumps in, "Are you sure you don't have even just the slightest bit of feelings for the Blue Knight?"

Nagia pauses, "N-... well...he did save me... but I only like him as much as any girl would a guy who saves her life!"

"Oh ho ho!" Lindsay says slyly. "Hmm..."

Nagia stands up, "Oh come on! Let's talk about something a little more important! Like my new Mew outfit!" she looks at Iva who hands it to her. "Or like that gym Ahimsa mentioned. We need money. How can we make mega cash fast? Working out at school isn't good."

"I've got that covered," Iva responds slyly. "We have a record deal."

The girls look at her astonished.

"Minto hired us an agent. You see, EVERYONE wants to represent the Mew Mews..." Iva smiles, but changes her expression when she sees the frozen faces. "Don't you ever watch tv? We're the biggest things since sliced bread! I've made us big!"

"Wow," Ahimsa claps.

"Be in awe of me, oh mortals," Lindsay mocks from behind Iva. The girls burst into laughter. Iva tries to scowl, but can't stop her smile. She grabs a nearby pillow and hurls it at Lindsay. Lindsay gets hit square in the face. The pillow falls to reveal a laughing game-face.

"Oh it's on!" Lindsay responds as she dives for another pillow. She grabs it and throws it at Minto, who gracefully sidesteps it. It hits Nagia instead.

"Oh no you didn't!" Nagia grabs the pillow and turns to Lindsay just as Iva chucks one at her. This time Nagia ducks causing Ahimsa to get hit square in the chest. Ahimsa grabs that pillow and lunges at the girls. Soon, the girls are running and laughing through a blizzard of pillows and feathers.

In physics the next day, Nagia comes in class exactly at the bell and goes straight to her seat to avoid Andrew, but as the teacher was late, the plan fails.

Andrew walks over to her, "Nagia." His voice was soothing, but sad.

Nagia looked in his eyes and her heart skipped a beat. "Yes?"

"I'm sorry about Saturday. I'd like to make it up to you." Andrew ventured cautiously.

"Oh no no. It's ok." Nagia waves her hands. "Don't feel bad about it! I'm fine."

He looks at her sadly.

_What's wrong, Andrew? Why don't I understand how to make it better? I said I was ok... Maybe... what if he wants me to be disappointed? What if he wants me to be sad we couldn't spend more time together..._

"Actually, I did want to go over a few more things with you."

Andrew's face brightens.

_Woah! He wanted me to enjoy spending time with him! He... likes me! Andrew likes... me?_

"Then how about we meet again? I passed the last physics test, but there is a quiz coming up Monday. How about we study together this weekend again? Same time?" he asked, oozing hope.

"Sure! I'd love that." Nagia responds completely elated.

"Ok. I'll call you." he replies, starting to walk away.

"Ok." Nagia smiles. It took all her self control not to do a backflip. _He likes me! He actually has a crush on me! Andrew! _She felt her face get hot. Physics class was a blur.

Nagia exited the building and was suddenly grabbed and pulled into the greenery. A hand covered her mouth.

"Shhh!" it commanded.

_The Blue Knight!_

Nagia looked at him. He took his hand off her mouth.

"What do you think you're doing?" Nagia whispered, looking at his arm around her waist.

He followed her line of sight and, flustered, pulled his hand away. "Sorry." He composed himself and pointed. Atop the building, Nagia could see Kisshu holding something that was flashing.

"He's making a chimera anima," the Blue Knight responded.

"So why the heck are we hiding in the bushes? Why aren't we up there?" Nagia turned to him for only a second before turning back. _He's definitely gorgeous too... and he's also into me...no... Andrew likes me. He is all that matters._

"Because Vortex is too."

Nagia's heart sank. "Vortex... so you can't beat him either... I see. So, we wait until something attacks the town and then attack it..."

"Vortex doesn't seem to place much importance in these chimera. It seems to be just stalling while he prepares his own plan. I noticed his indifference about the mammoth last time," he thinks aloud.

At that moment, Kisshu threw the light into the sky and it morphed into the shape of a lion with the head, spine, and tail of a snake.

"Showtime," The Blue Knight whispered.

"Mew Mew Ichigo! Me-ta-mo-ri-pho-sis!" Nagia leaps out in her newly-designed Mew outfit, a primarily pink jump suit complete with heels and a spot for her tail. The Blue Knight stands next to her.

"Nice outfit. Looks good on you." he flirts.

Ichigo blushes. "Come on!" she hops on top of the building.

"Wasn't expecting you this fast, Honey," Kisshu quips. "Not that I wanted to wait any more time to see you."

Ichigo turns to see Vortex a ways away, watching. _As long as he doesn't intend to move... _She turns back to Kisshu. "Oh shut up." Ichigo snaps, "Why do you have to make those creepy things anyway? Don't you know I have better things to do?"

"To see you of course, my dear. And what could be more important than spending time with me?" Kisshu points and the tail of the beast extends and reaches toward Ichigo. She saults, but it turns and grabs onto her leg. As if on cue, the Blue knight hops up and lands beside her, effortlessly removing the monster's tail and freeing Ichigo along the way.

_Great... saved again..._

"You brought him to our date?" Kisshu asked ticked. He pointed at the two. "Get them!" he commanded the beast.

It began to run straight at them. Ichigo readied herself for the attack with her strawberry bell as the Blue Knight took a stance with his sword. As it was almost to them, the two saulted into the air. The Blue Knight gave a powerful attack straight to the head with the blunt of the sword, effectively stunning the beast.

"Mew Ichigo!"

"Strawberry Surprise!"

And the beast dissipated into a thousand pieces.

Kisshu looked over to Vortex, scowling. Vortex snickered and disappeared. Kisshu opened his mouth as if he was going to say something, but simply teleported instead.

_We're even the perfect combination..._ _And he knows who I am..._

Nagia stares at The Blue Knight, heart beating profusely. She steps backwards, trying to distance herself from him. The Blue Knight turns around to face her just as one of her heels slips off of the side of the building.

"Ichigo! Look ou-" he wraps his body around her and takes her fall.

"Blue Knight! Are you ok? I'm sorry!" he lay on the ground as Ichigo knelt above him. "Blue Knight!" she shakes him.

"Yeah. I'm fine." he smiles at her and sits up. He places one hand on her head and moves his head closer to hers. They stare at each other eye to eye. Nagia kneels there, breathless. She notices he is breathing hard. He leans in._ Andrew..._ It takes all of Nagia's strength to stand up and move away.

"I can't! I've told you! There is someone else I like." she says, partially trying to convince herself. "Please, stop pursuing me."

"Does he like you?"

"I think he does."

"But you don't know."

"Not 100%, but I'm pretty sure he does." Nagia looks away, trying desperately not to stray from her view of Andrew.

"Then, did you feel nothing a few seconds ago?" The Blue Knight stands up and moves in front of her. He gently lifts her face up to face his. "Did you not feel anything at all for me?"

For the first time, she notices sadness in his expression. Her heart becomes pierced by those deep blue sapphire eyes.

He lets her go, "Then if you can't tell me you don't feel anything at all, don't tell me to give up." He walks away, leaving Ichigo staring after him.

Ichigo clutches her fist against her chest. _It hurts..._


	9. Chapter 9

_**Chapter 9: Platinum**_

At the record studio, the mews walk down the hall in full transformed costume.

"We're really going to do this? Like, you really made us actual idols!" Purin asks for the 20th time.

"Yes..." We will release a single and debut in a couple months... Minto responds.

Retasu cowers a bit as she walks, "I don't even know if I can sing, Minto! What if I can't sing?"

"Nowadays you don't need to be able to sing. It's all digital," Minto sighs trying to decide if she regrets not taping their mouths and having them shipped to the studio. She looks over at Ichigo, who seems distracted. "Hey, Ichigo. You ok?"

"Oh- Yeah. I'm doing alright," she starts to daze out of the conversation again, "Just thinking..."

"About Zakuro?" Minto inquires with a raised eyebrow, knowing full well the answer lied in the Blue Knight and Andrew.

"Y-yeah," Ichigo responds slowly. "We really should ask Retasu's aunt to introduce us to Sofia Estrella."

"And then what? We've talked about this! Sofia isn't going to just up and join us and sacrifice her multimillion-dollar career traveling the world without something equally profitable to take its place! Have you been listening at all in the last hour?" Minto pretended to be angry, but truthfully was just exhausted.

"No... I guess I've been distracted..." Ichigo admits.

"We really need our leader to concentrate, Ichigo," Ichigo turns to see Retasu, Purin, and Minto staring at her, worried expressions on each. "We have to make this good if we are going to become popular enough for Sofia Estrella to want to join us."

Ichigo takes in a deep breath. "I got it. I'm sorry."

The group rounds one more corner and enters two oak double doors.

As they enter, they find three men and a woman. All rise from their seats and the man in the middle, heavy-set and seemingly about 40, comes over to hug all of the mews one by one. The other three extend their hands for a shake.

"I am so glad you've chosen our company! Come! Come!" his accent is heavily French, "Let me show you your songs!" He pushes the mews into the next room as the other three follow.

Posters of famous singers and actors line the walls, including one of Sofia Estrella. Ichigo stares at it for a while.

"She's our most famous singer," a tall, bony woman informs her. "She hasn't made a cd in a while since her modeling career took off, but she is technically still under our label."

"Ah. I see." Ichigo muses.

Within the hour, the girls are in the studio.

"Let's see how well you sing," a pudgy Latino man wearing a bow tie motioned for the music to start.

The girls began to sing and each let out a beautiful melody that made everyone's jaws drop. As they sang, they all looked at one another, shocked that this was them.

_I'm not tone deaf, but I am definitely not this good! Being in Mew form really does heighten ALL of my abilities!_

After their run-through, the French man and the pose ran in emphatic about the voices of their four singers. Within moments, they were all on the phone booking places for their concerts. The girls swore they heard Time Square mentioned in the frenzy.

The rest of the day was a blur of contracts and clothes fittings.

Upon leaving the studio, they decided to get some ice cream at a local creamery.

Nagia was astonished, "Did you hear us! We were better than good! We were some of the best singers I've ever heard!"

"I know! We were so d- good!" Lindsay blurted.

"Now Zakuro will join us and we'll have all 5 members!" Ahimsa squeals.

"Just like you to focus soley on the mission..." Iva snickers.

"That is why we are doing this, right? To become famous enough to attract Zakuro and rich enough to buy a gym, right?" Ahimsa reminds them.

Lindsay hits the table, "You're right, but come on! Enjoy how much you rock for once! Unless you were always this good?"

Ahimsa shakes her head violently, "No! Nothing like that. I uh... I'm just a bit shocked. I've never really been good at anything before. And I've never performed on stage."

"Well get used to it, girls! We are gonna be stars!" Lindsay stands up and points to the sky.

"There is something else we need to do." Nagia starts. "We need to make sure Sofia is Zakuro."

Iva folds her hands. "She's the only celebrity I admire. I'm absolutely sure she just has to be Zakuro."

"Or you're just hoping she is. We've already seen the Blue Knight and Andrew at the same time. Maybe Sofia isn't Zakuro either." Nagia bursts her bubble.

"Fine. We'll investigate her and prove she is!" Minto quips indignantly.

"And, have you guys really thought through all of this? I mean, if she is Zakuro, doesn't that mean whoever is the "Master" of that masked girl has been stalking us?" Ahimsa ventures. "Don't you think we should be discussing him too?"

"I think we all know he's been stalking us, Ahimsa. What can we say? We can't find him. We've been kidnapped and we've had our bodies altered by someone we have no idea where to begin to look for. We're trapped." Lindsay's voice saddens.

"That's why we don't talk about it..." Nagia says softly.

"Sorry..." Ahimsa lowers her head. The group stays in silence for a few minutes. "I'll ask my aunt where Sofia will be tomorrow."

The next day, the group heads toward Aoi, an upscale sushi bar in Chicago.

A waiter wearing black and white with a bow tie leads them to their seats.

"Keep your eyes peeled." Nagia whispers as they walk through the dining room.

Finally they reach their seats. The waiter pulls out their chairs one by one and helps them at the table.

"Did anyone see her?" Lindsay asks once he has gone. Everyone shakes their head.

"Then she must be in the private Japanese traditional room." Iva announces. She looks over at a back corner toward a closed shoji door.

"How do we get in there?" Ahimsa asks.

At that moment, the girls hear a horrible crash. Glass comes flying all around them, and they drop to the floor. In comes a chimera anima dragonfly with Kisshu on its back.

Patrons run screaming everywhere.

All four smile and duck under the table.

"Mew Mew Strawberry! Me-ta-mo-ri-pho-sis!"

"Mew Mew Minto! Me-ta-mo-ri-pho-sis!

"Mew Mew Retasu! Me-ta-mo-ri-pho-sis!

"Mew Mew Purin! Me-ta-mo-ri-pho-sis!

The four emerge from under the table.

"It's blocked the exit!" says an older man.

"Look! It's the Mew Mews!" another man's voice yells.

"They will save us!" a woman's voice calls.

"Kisshu! Do you actually think you will win this time?" Ichigo asks sarcastically.

"Yeah," he folds his arms, "I actually do." He waves to the giant insect. It opens its mouth causing some green gas to spread out. The Mews try to lead the people to move behind them, but soon the entire dining area is engulfed in it.

Purin tries to move closer. She coughs and drops to her knees. Minto wets a napkin in a nearby glass and presses it against Purin's nose as she pulls her closer to the others.

Despite the cloth, they all begin coughing and losing their strength. Everyone on the floor had dropped to the ground, clutching their burning throats.

_At this rate, Kisshu really will win..._ Ichigo thinks as the bug moves closer to them.

_10 feet away... 5 feet... it's standing over me..._

"Zakuro spear!"

Ichigo saw the monster reel back in pain. Kisshu whirls around, shocked to see Zakuro.

That moment the insect stopped secreting the gas allows the Mews to regain enough strength to stand.

"It's over, Kisshu!" Kisshu turns to Ichigo. She slaps him. He grasps his face in shock,"Strawberry bell! Strawberry Surprise!" The giant bug disappears.

"You... You hit me!" Kisshu stands in shock. All 5 Mews move closer to him, weapons in hand. He moves backwards. "This isn't over, Mew Ichigo! All of you! It isn't over!" he teleports away.

Zakuro walks toward the broken window and begins to climb out.

"Mew Zakuro!" Minto calls out. "Wait!" she runs toward her and stops a couple feet away. Zakuro turns to her. "Thank you for saving us."

"You're welcome."

"And... would you... possibly," Minto looks away. "Um-"

"No."

Minto turns to her. "We're going to debut as idols soon! And our song is really good! We'll be famous and-"

Zakuro steps back in and walks closer to Minto. "If you want me, you have to earn me. I make $20 million a year by modeling all over the world and you expect me to stay only in Chicago? Make me a place where I can live my lifestyle. Then ask me to join." she does a seamless backflip over the shards and out the window. The four mews run over to see where she landed, but she was gone.

"$20 million..." Retasu ponders, "Most singing groups don't make that..."

The four look out the window, at a loss.

"Excuse me."

The mews turn around to see a little boy who stood away from the crowd.

"Yes?" Purin kneels down to his height.

"I have powers too. Would you teach me how to be like you?" he asks.

"You have powers?" Ichigo asks, "Show us."

He closes his fists tightly together and squints his eyes. From his back emerge two angelic wings. He flaps them a few times and leaps off the ground.

"Yes..." Ichigo smiles, entertaining a new idea. She looks at the other mews filled with determination, then back to the boy. "We'll teach you. We're going to start a high school in a couple years after all."

"What!" the other mews reply astonished.


	10. Chapter 10

_**Chapter 10: Getting to Know You**_

Nagia stares at her laptop, Google-ing as many combinations she can think of on the internet to find out if her having a crush on two guys is wrong. Most sites tell her it's ok, but quite a few say that a girl can only truly love one guy most. She finally slams the machine closed and pulls out something a bit more concrete to rest her brain, calculus. She plows away for hours on integrals and whatnot, trying to get her mind off of the intense pain in her chest.

After an hour, she gets up to take a walk. She looks outside and sees the first snowfall of the season.

She runs outside without a coat, arms outstretched, desperately trying to feel as if the snow is cleansing her.

"Nagia!" her mom calls, "What the heck are you doing? You're going to catch a cold!"

"I'm ok, Mom." she says as she is led inside. "I just needed to wake up."

Her mom gives her a strange look before bringing her to the kitchen and serving her some tea.

"Want to talk about it?" she asks.

"What if you like two guys, mom? And what if they both like you?"

"Well, sometimes that happens," her mom sits down next to her with her own cup of tea. She smiles at her daughter. "Sometimes you just have to make up your mind and stick with it!... that probably didn't help..." she laughs.

"No, actually it did." Nagia turns to her. "Please don't tell dad!"

Her mom giggles, "Of course, sweetie."

Nagia starts up the stairs, "Thanks for the tea!"

Upstairs, Nagia zooms through her homework and heads to bed, ready for Saturday.

Saturday morning, Iva, Ahimsa, and Lindsay meet Nagia at her house to help her dress.

"Go with this one!" Iva pushes designer pants, a baby blue top, and white fur booties into Nagia's hands. "Trendy and sophisticated.

Lindsay stands in front of Iva, "No way! You've gotta go cute! She holds out a miniskirt."

"She'll freeze!" Iva grabs the skirt with one hand and holds out her outfit.

"Um..." Ahimsa starts. Everyone looks at her, "Why doesn't she layer the skirt over the pants? That would look really cute... I think..."

"Ah... you actually have some taste...," Iva concedes. They all look at Nagia.

"Fine with me." Nagia responds, completely trusting her friends.

Iva holds out a hand to Lindsay.

Lindsay shakes it. "I think we've done it!"

(Outside of the cafe)

Though Nagia was 10 minutes early, Andrew was already there. She approaches him.

"You look really nice," Andrew blushes. "You looked really nice last time too."

Nagia beams, "Thank you."

The two walk in silence inside. They find a booth near the back and begin to spread out their books.

Nagia searches through her assignment notebook, "Here. The test next week is on torque, so how about we start with that?" She looks up at him, but suddenly turns away when confronted by his beautiful sapphire eyes.

"Yeah. That would help a lot."

After an hour, Nagia suggests a break.

"I heard you are the candidate for valedictorian in our class. Didn't you skip freshman status?" Andrew asks, just trying to bring the conversation away from gravity and friction.

"Y-yeah," Nagia looks down, not wanting to brag in front of Andrew, "I was bored in 8th grade, so my mother enrolled me in a start-high-school-early program on weekends. So, when I came here, I was able to skip freshman year..."

"Wow. You're a total genius."

"Nothing like that... I just..." Nagia doesn't know how to finish the sentence. Andrew sees her trapped.

"You just love to study." She looks up at him. "It's your hobby?"

"Yeah," Nagia is a bit relieved. "Something like that."

"Well," he grabs some stray papers and stacks them together. "I for one am glad. You helped me go from a C to an A- on the last exam."

Nagia grins ear to ear, but then her smile fades a bit. _What if that's the only reason he wants to spend time with me..._

"Can we study every week like this?" Andrew starts slowly, "I mean... is it ok to make this a regular thing?"

"Y-yeah," Nagia tries to look upbeat, "ok."


	11. Chapter 11

_**Chapter 11: Kisshu**_

After studying another hour, the two go their separate ways.

Once she is sure Andrew can no longer see her, Nagia runs as fast as she can to the park where she met Minto.

_How could I have been so dumb? Two guys liking me? And one being Andrew of all people? I'm too grandiose... _

She looks around to make sure no one is there.

"Ichigo! Henshin!"

That morning, the girls had decided to take a break from training, so Ichigo had energy abounds. She takes off running, pushing her body harder than ever before. She reaches a tree and bounds over it, soaring above all the houses and buildings, running towards Downtown, Chicago from her quiet suburb.

_I don't know what to believe anymore! I had just decided to choose Andrew and tell the Blue Knight off for good... _

She lands on top of a Metra train and rides it toward the city.

"What's up, Puddytat?" the least-welcome voice appears next to her. Kisshu.

"Oh please... I really don't feel like fighting you today..." She pulls up her knees and buries her head.

Kisshu sighs, "I'm not here to bug you." he leans back. "I saw you racing this way looking sad and..."

Ichigo turns to him shocked, "You were worried about me? Even though I slapped you last time?"

He blushes and touches his cheek, "Don't say it like that!" he pauses. "A little... ya know... things aren't quite like the manga... so don't look at me like that..."

"Thank you..."

Kisshu faces her, a mixture of embarrassment, fear, and happiness. _There's plenty of time to get you back for that later... _He clears his throat, "So, what's buggin' ya?"

"I..." Ichigo starts, "I'm glad Andrew isn't the Blue Knight so he can't be Deep Blue... but..." _I can't believe I'm talking about this with Kisshu of all people... _

"Heh. I was a bit shocked about that one too!" Kisshu finishes saddened, "But you have feelings for both now." He lies down on the train. "If I were you... I'd go for Andrew."

"But I don't know if he likes me."

"Look... I've never known you before, Tootsie, but I like you. What if that is the way the Blue Knight feels too? What if we've been programmed when we took on these powers?" Kisshu rolls over and faces the opposite direction to hide his expression, "Just like you, I was an ordinary guy before this. If Andrew is not related to this whole ordeal and he likes you, he should be your one."

"Kisshu... Thank you."

"Look, I gotta go." He stands up, still facing the other direction, "If I'm caught here, I could be in some major trouble."

"Wait-" Ichigo also stands up. He turns to her.

"What are you all fighting for? I mean, in the manga, you were aliens, and you fought to take over our world, but what is happening now?"

He thinks for a second, "I don't really know to be honest... Vortex has his own plan. He and our leader seem to be preparing something they won't tell any of us," he looks angry, "Lower underlings" about..." he catches her eye. "He's dangerous, Tootsie."

"Then why do you fight with them?"

"I owe him. Me and the ones you'd know as Pai and Taruto, actually they're my brothers, were rescued by him when we transformed like this a few years ago and we were kicked out of our home."

Ichigo looks at him, saddened.

He turns to his side and points to his ear, "Look. Usually when people do the elven ear surgery, you can always see a scar. Mine is real. And look at my eyes. They aren't contacts and I don't transform to become this. I AM this. You are lucky, Ichigo. You can remain in society. I can't." Suddenly filled with frustration, he starts to fly away.

"I'm so sorry for asking, Ki-"

"It's not your fault. See you on the battlefield." he disappears.

Nagia continues her ride downtown, weighed down for the first time since the beginning by the knowledge that this is truly no game. _What are you planning, Vortex? ... We need go get stronger fast... Or he will crush us... _She clenches her fists tightly.


	12. Chapter 12

_**Chapter 12: Pai**_

CRASH!

Zakuro leaps out of the way just as Pai's fan shatters a glass table. Screams can be heard everywhere as dignitaries clammer for the exits. They find their way blocked by a 50-foot tall rat and dog mix. Acid drool drips from its teeth. It winds up its clawed paw to slash the running people, but pulls back, yelping against Zakuro's whip. Zakuro taunts it, making it decide to follow her instead, leaving the exits free for the people to escape.

Zakuro leads it toward the window, but finds her way of escape blocked by Pai. She takes a stance, prepared to go down kicking and screaming.

Pai winds up his fan to electrocute her as the monster opens his drool-filled jaws.

"Strawberry Surprise!" The beast reels back as it dissipates into the air.

Zakuro and Ichigo ready themselves to fight Pai, who has already escaped out of the window.

Zakuro detransforms into Sofia and walks away.

_Not even a "Thanks?" Well... you're welcome anyhow..._

Ichigo turns to the window, preparing to give chase. "Well, if you won't-"

Sofia turns around, "Don't hurt him!" her eyes pierce Ichigo.

"What!"

Sofia stops herself, angry that she betrayed her feelings.

"Did we not just live the same scene? He just tried to kill you! What am I missing here?" Ichigo walks over to her.

"I knew him before he came like this... Before WE became like this..."

"Sofia?..."

"They aren't our true enemies... Pai... Daniel... was a fan of mine before I became famous. He was the only person who believed I'd make it big. He came to every concert, bought every cd, and visited me after every performance."

"You like him..."

"He doesn't want to hurt me. I can tell he's always holding back his true power because... I've seen his strength. When he first changed, he stopped seeing me..."

(Flashback 10 years ago)

A 8-year old Sofia plays the final chord at Carnegie Hall. The crowd rises to their feet and claps wildly.

She stands, curtsies and walks forward, applause becoming even louder. She smiles, but her smile has no depth until she glances to her right and sees a boy, about her age and height, clapping wildly. He looks like Pai, but with normal ears, green eyes, and black hair. Sofia looks back at the crowd, glowing.

Soon, she exits the stage and runs right past her agent to hug the boy.

"Daniel! I did it! You were right! I didn't make any mistakes at all."

The adults watch them, smiling at the puppy love.

Daniel hugs her back, then steals a kiss on her cheek before running down the hall. Sofia stands shocked for a second before puckering up and yelling, "Now it's your turn!"

The two end up in one of the sound proof practice rooms.

"Sofia," he says with a serious face, surprising her. "I don't want you to kiss other guys, but I want you to be a great actress."

Sofia turns to him and gives him a peck on the cheek.

"It's ok, Daniel. When I have to do kissing scenes, I'll just pretend the man is you."

Daniel turns to her, "Then will you give me your first kiss?"

Sofia tenses up for a second, then loosens. "Uh huh."

They share a childish, quick kiss on the lips.

(Later on set)

Sofia screams. "Daddy!", a 10-year-old Sofia yells.

A man scoops her up and whacks a giant monster head.

"CUT!" a man sitting high above yells. "That's a wrap!"

Everyone in the room claps.

"Take a break, everyone!"

Sofia runs to her trailer. She throws open the door and looks exitedly inside. Her eyes don't land on any of the mounds of presents, but search beyond them, "Daniel?" she calls out, running through the kitchen, past the bathroom, and to the bedroom. "Daniel?" Disappointed he wasn't there, she runs out to question the staff.

"Have you seen Daniel?" she asks a man dressed as a pirate. "He's about my age, about this tall-"

"Nah, sorry, Sofia. Haven't seen any other kids today besides you."

"Thank you!" she calls out as she runs toward kraft services.

Sofia spent her entire break searching for him. _Maybe he'll come after the shoot tonight..._

She worked very hard on her scenes that day, excited to see Daniel, but after the shoot, he was still nowhere to be found.

_He never misses a day... Even when he's sick he always calls... What if something happened to him?_

That night, she sneaks out past the guards to find Daniel. She goes to his house and finds his mother in the kitchen, sobbing.

"Oh! Sofia!" she turns to her and quickly dries her tears.

"Hello... um... is Daniel ok? He didn't come to visit me today."

The woman sighs. "Daniel... won't be back."

The news hit Sofia hard, "Why?" She runs up to the woman.

The woman begins to cry again. "My babies were taken over by hideous monsters!"

Sofia stepped back. "What do you mean?"

"I woke up this morning and they were these grotesque monsters with pointed ears and the eyes of cats." she began to look unstable. "Those monsters took my children! I grabbed my shotgun and-"

"NOO!" Sofia runs out the house, tears flowing. _No! No! No! Daniel!_

She spends the next few hours yelling, "Daniel!" all over the city. Curious onlookers stare, not fully believing the famous Sofia was out there, covered in dirt, crying, and searching alone.

Sofia rounds a corner and is confronted by a trio of gang members. She tries to run, but finds two more behind her. The leader grabs her by the arm and pulls her up to face him. He gives her a once over before dropping her to the ground in a puddle. She pulls her knees to her chest and sobs.

"Hold her down."

She feels arms push her to the ground.

"Look at the great Sofia now." one quipps.

"Daniel..." she whispers.

In that moment, she sees a cloaked figure rush out and punch the leader. She then sees a hand emerge from the cape, carrying a fan. With one fell swoop, electricity knocks out all of the goons. The figure starts to run away, but Sofia grabs his cape. It falls, revealing the silouette she had come to love.

"Daniel!" She leaps up and hugs his back. She can feel his heart beat. Two more cloaked figures, smaller, approach her, and she recognizes them as Daniel's younger siblings James and Frederick. She sees their eyes and ears and jerks back a little.

"We've become monsters, Sofia." Daniel says as he pushes her away. He moves more into the light so she can see his eyes and ears. He looks at her in the eyes, craving the relationship they had before, but scared to ask for it.

Sofia looks up at him, unable to move, not knowing what to say.

His eyes well up as he scoops up his brothers and leaps away.

Sofia cries after him, wanting him to understand she was only shocked, but realizing that one expression could be the last thing he'd ever remember from her.

Back in the present, Sofia's eyes well up. "That's why I can't join you yet..." Ichigo puts a hand on her shoulder. "When I found out Daniel was Pai... I..." she angrily wipes her eyes and looks square in Ichigo's eyes. "He saved me back there. I don't know what reasons he has for being on that side, but I am not going to risk him getting hurt fighting all of us. Not to mention, I'm saving up millions every single year. I'm going to buy his freedom." She stands up. "So don't ask me to join you."

"Take your time, Sofia." Ichigo says slowly. Sofia looks at her. "Protect him." Ichigo starts out the door. "And if we see him or his brothers, I'll tell the girls to hold off. In the mean time, instead of fighting him, you should get him to talk to you."

"I don't know what to say to him..."

"For starters, tell him you still love him." Ichigo jumps out the window and lands safely below.

Sofia watches from above, letting the wind blow in her hair. She looks to the right and watches construction continue on a new dome. Her eyes settle on an odd figure standing atop one of the cranes. He wore a black cape, and had glowing eyes. Fear wells up in her chest and her eyebrows furl. _Who is this..._


	13. Chapter 13

_**Chapter 13: The Swan**_

"Why don't I get to meet Taruto!" Lindsay wails after Nagia explains Sofia's story.

"There's plenty of time for that sort of thing, Lindsay..." Iva admonishes. "The problem here is how to get Pai and Sofia together..."

"Aren't we forgetting we are at war?" Ahimsa reminds them.

Iva looks at her, "That's completely the point! We need more on our side! And since it is quite obvious that the aliens who were our enemies in the manga aren't our enemies here, it's time to recruit! Besides... It's in the name of Sofia's love!" Iva goes off into her own little world.

"Besides," Nagia continues. "In the anime, the aliens and mews may have fought, but Kisshu saved Ichigo in the end as did Taruto in regards to Purin. The true enemy was always Deep Blue, or in our case, Vortex."

Iva comes back into reality. "So, are we all agreed? Who's with me in helping Sofia's love?"She clenches her fist, ready for action.

The following day Ahimsa got Sofia's schedule as the other Mews tried to track down the aliens. Finding Kisshu proved to be incredibly easy.

"You want to do WHAT!"

"Meet Pai. Millennium Park at the fountain. Friday night at 1:00AM sharp. Would you please deliver the message?" Ichigo begs.

Kisshu blushes. "Ok! I'll tell him..." He teleports away confused, but glad Ichigo came to him and determined to carry out her request.

Meanwhile, Retasu sneaks into Sofia's trailer.

"What are you doing he-" Sofia pauses, "Oh no... You meddling..." She shakes her head. "Whatever you are planning, I will have no part of it." She turns back to her lines. "A magic car? Are you mad?..." she continues.

"Daniel will be waiting for you."

Sofia stops, trying not to be livid that Ichigo meddled in her business. She takes a deep breath, thinking, _It's Ichigo... why should I be surprised she sticks her nose where it doesn't belong?_

"You can explain everything to him and learn how he truly feels about you." Sofia goes back to her lines while Retasu sneaks out.

On Friday night, the girls gather behind The Bean to watch the events transpire. It doesn't take long for Kisshu to join them.

Sofia stands there, hair in a flowing, curly up-do and wearing a long off-white evening gown with large fur shrug.

Iva points and looks at Kisshu. "I told Retasu to set that out on her bed." She giggles. Kisshu rolls his eyes and gets back to watching the scene.

The posse see Pai approach but stop when he gets close enough to see her. They watch him as he turns red and begins to fly backwards.

Kisshu watches his brother, shocked to see this kind of expression. For several minutes, Pai just stays there, frozen. He starts to leave, then notices the group staring at him, including his younger brother. He tries to act composed.

All of them motion for him to go over to Sofia. Trapped, he does.

When she sees him, Sofia's face become radiant.

"You're beautiful," he comments, unable to take his eyes off of her. He makes a motion behind him. "We're being watched..."

Sofia giggles, "Yeah. They think they're hiding." Her elegant smile warms. "Thank you for seeing me."

Daniel moves his hand to her cheek and she leans against it, closing her eyes. He kisses her. Tears fall down her eyes.

"I'm so sorry about back then. I was shocked. I-"

"It's ok. I was a young boy embarrassed not to be perfect in front of the girl he loved."

"Would you please join us? Don't leave me again."

"The one who took us in raised us. We owe him our lives."

"If it's money, I can pay. Anything he's ever given you, I can pay! You know he's using you! All of you. He's evil."

He touches her lips. "I know. Which is why I stay with him." Sofia stares into the cat-like eyes. "I want to protect you, Sofia. If I am not the one he sends after you, he will send others, who don't care about hurting you."

She leans onto his chest and he embraces her.

"We won't be able to do this soon." he whispers into her ear.

"Don't say that!" She grabs a tight fistful of his shirt. "Just give me tonight."

"Pai!" a younger voice calls out.

Sofia and Pai turn around to see Taruto.

Taruto sniffs the air, "She's a Mew Mew, Pai!" He points to her. "Why are you... with a Mew Mew?" He pulls out his weapon as he waits for an explanation from his brother.

Pai tries to push Sofia away, but she won't let go of his shirt. _No. Not again!_

Pai looks at her, eyes welling up as he forces her to let go and pulls out his fan.

Behind the bean, Kisshu gives a sorrowful expression to the girls. They respond in kind as they all transform.

Minto comforts Sofia as the other three mews land in front of them.

"This is stupid!" Ichigo yells out, mainly at Pai. "Why are you so intent on making her suffer?"

The comment takes him aback.

"If you keep trying to protect us, we'll never encounter stronger opponents and gain the strength to win this war!"

"Don't you hate seeing Sofia like this!" Minto cries out. "Don't you miss the strong, confident Sofia!"

Taruto turns to Pai, "What is she talking about?" he asks.

"You were really little back then, so you probably don't remember, but Zakuro and I... I loved Sofia. I still love Sofia."

"I thought you hated her!" Taruto panics. "That's why you always wanted to fight her, right? ...You could get in really bad trouble if-" He turns to Kisshu. "Tell him!"

"I don't want to fight them anymore, Taruto. I remember Daniel so happy when we were little every time he'd go see a little girl trying to break into show business. Do you remember our old life at all, Frederick?"

"Frederick? Don't call me what that woman did as she tried to kill us!"

An awkward silence ensues.

"I'm not going to betray him. He saved us when we had nowhere else to go. We were abandoned!" He looks at each of his brothers. "Make up your minds now! Choose. If you choose them, you're on your own."

Kisshu flies toward Taruto, "Daniel, I have nothing outside of what he's given me, but you do." He points to Sofia, then quickly glances sadly at Ichigo before turning to his brother. "Go with her. I'll keep this brat in check." He sneaks a glance at Ichigo, then pats angry Taruto's head and gives Pai a smile.

Pai turns to Sofia. He nods to his brother, then extends his hand to help her up. She hugs him as the Kisshu and Taruto teleport away.

With his arm around Sofia, he asks the group, "Is that ok? Do you mind if I join you?"

He sees a group of girls poised to squeal. By unanimous decision, Pai is accepted. The girls then send off the couple to have a romantic walk in the moonlight. Once they leave, there is a celebration all around for the success of Sofia's love.

They find a late-night Metra ride home and hop on the top.

Purin lets out a sigh.

"What's wrong?" Retasu asks.

Purin gives a half smile. "I feel so sorry for Taruto... I just-"

Retasu lightly pats her head. "It'll all work out. I'm sure your feelings will reach him."

Purin shoves her embarrassed, "I never said I had feelings for him! He doesn't realize he is just being used! I just..."

"I know. Your heart is drawn to helping him."

"Yeah... something like that..."


	14. Chapter 14

_**Chapter 14: Where There's Smoke...**_

"There! I've finished all the homework any of the teachers could give me for the whole school year!" Nagia states feeling accomplished to no one in particular. She walks over to her bed and picks up a package.

She lies down as she opens it, revealing several books about starting businesses, schools, etc.

She reads the backs and sets to reading one.

After a half hour or so, she grabs her bag and transforms.

"Ichigo Henshin!" she yells as she exits the window and heads to the city.

She meets Retasu, Minto, and Purin at the recording studio. Today was the first day with their choreographer to prepare for their debut as a musical group a week after Valentine's Day.

After the typical greetings, they walk to the performance hall. Ichigo walks through the door first. Her mouth falls open.

"This is the largest hall in Chicago. Like it?" their French producer seems to pat himself on the back.

The girls turn to him, ecstatically singing his praises.

Soon, they are practicing their moves on stage. Like their singing had improved, so did their dancing. They easily execute everything the choreographer demands causing practice to end early.

As soon as they were dismissed, Ichigo hurries home leaving the other Mews giggling about where she will be meeting Andrew today.

Ichigo gets to the meeting place, a pizza parlor in a place where only the locals would know to look, detransformed and early. She takes a seat at a table and orders a soda. She looks at her clock. 2:30. _Half hour early..._ She'd forgotten practice had ended early. She lay down on the table. To her surprise, Andrew enters. He sees her and waves.

The two spend their usual two hours studying.

At 5:00, Nagia suggests they end for the day. She gets up, hoping Andrew will stop her, but he doesn't, so she continues out the door, disappointed. She lets out a heavy sigh. _Lately Andrew has been cold..._

Snow falls around her as she trudges through it. _I didn't bring my car... _She had jumped there as Ichigo. Not feeling like transforming, she walks along the busy streets. From behind her, she hears a fire truck and ambulance. They rush past her. Needing a distraction, she hides and transforms, "Ichigo Henshin!"

It was easy to follow the sirens as several fire trucks, policemen, and ambulances came to put out the fire at the apartment building about a mile from her house. Ichigo lands outside in the bushes. From what she could see, the firemen had already been able to get everyone safely out.

One man helps a woman who looks to be about 30 from the house. She coughs profusely. The fireman leads her to an ambulance and helps her onto a gurney. When she gathers her breath, she searches around frantically. "Susan? Susan!" The woman hops up and starts running toward the building. Two policemen and a policewoman grab her. "Susan was in the bathtub! Did anyone bring out a little girl from a bathroom?"

"Calm down!" They told her as the policewoman orders two firement to search inside.

Before they are able to enter, the entryway collapses.

The woman screams and starts fighting the policemen.

Dark Ichigo runs to the building and hops inside ignoring the yells of those in uniform.

She gasps for air only a second before remembering her power. She finds she is able to clear her path of fire, but not as well as if she had been the one who had created it. She makes her way through the apartments, searching for the girl. "Susan! Susan!" she calls.

She feels the building shake. _I don't have much time._

"Susan!" she yells louder.

A little girl's scream.

Ichigo enters apartment 2B and finds the flames have almost destroyed their closed bathroom door. She easily kicks it down. Sitting in the tub holding her frantically-scratching pet cat is a crying girl.

"Susan!" Ichigo calls and motions her to come out of the tub.

Susan gets up and runs to her. Ichigo wraps her in a nearby towel.

"Hold Kitty tight. I won't let you fall, so you can't let her fall either."

Susan nods as Ichigo holds onto her tight. The two exit the bathroom. The building could collapse any minute. Ichigo takes a deep breath and leaps. She lands and leaps a few seconds before that part of the building collapses. Ichigo covers the girl's and cat's heads with part of the wet towel as she leaps again and again, barely missing falling through.

_There's the exit!_

Ichigo takes another bound. _So far so good._

She takes another. _Almost there!_

Her final bound. The floor collapses beneath her as all three fall through. Susan screams as Ichigo covers her and the cat with her body.

Ichigo feels an arm grab her. She looks up to see the Blue Knight. He yanks them up and they escape.

Susan runs to her Mom, still holding the cat.

The woman runs to Ichigo and hugs her, thanking her again and again. Ichigo can't help but cry with her.

Soon, Ichigo leaves_, _trying not to stagger. Once she is away, she collapses, breathing hard.

Blue boots approach her.

"You're always so defenseless around me, Ichigo..." were the last words she heard before darkness.


	15. Chapter 15

_**Chapter 15: His Feelings Her Feelings**_

Ichigo finds herself staring at the snow-covered trees. _Hasn't this happened before..._

She looks to her left to see the Blue Knight resting against the trunk.

Ichigo lay on his lap. She sits up, rousing him.

"You're up." he yawns.

"Yeah. Thanks for taking care of me." She removes his coat from her shoulders and hands it to him, heart beating. She detransforms, then gets out of the tree into the snow below.

"You must really like this guy," he laments. "To choose him over me."

"I do like him a lot, though you're right, I don't know if he likes me." Ichigo responds softly. She perks up. "Ya know, I'm going to tell him I like him next time we meet." she announces.

"You sure? Isn't it better if you wait?"

Ichigo smiles, "It's better for YOU if I wait. But I need to know. There's a lot of stress in waiting for the one you like to confirm they like you. And, I guess... a good friend of mine recently showed me sometimes that kind of stress isn't necessary." She turns away.

"Nagia," he jumps down and walks toward her. He steals a kiss on her cheek. "Suki desu."

"Blue Knight... You know-"

"It means I like you... I want you to tell him that... I hope he treats you well," he steps back, "And feel free to use me as a rebound!"

A knot wells up in Ichigo's heart. _Thank you for loving me._

At the shoot, Sofia finishes the last of her scenes for her new drama and rushes over to her trailer. She throws open the door to reveal Daniel standing there with flowers. She takes them and smells them delicately. He touches her cheek and kisses her.

The two had agreed he was not to be seen due to his appearance and worries that Sofia's career would suffer if people knew they were together, so Daniel was never able to see her act live like he used to, but the two were happy to be together.

"How did it go?" Daniel asks.

"Great! We have the big disagreement and make up between my character and her brother, and 'that's a wrap!'" Sofia brings her clothes into the bathroom to change into something a bit more normal.

Daniel waits outside. He looks toward the bathroom and smiles, remembering their childhood.

Sofia emerges wearing a stylish designer combo. She grabs coat and hat, which he helps her put on. Just as they open the door, they find a woman waiting there holding 4 swords in each hand like claws. Daniel pushes Sofia inside and shuts the door. She pulls at it, but he has it held shut.

"Zakuro Henshin!" She races to the window and looks outside. The woman poises to her katana and lunges toward Pai. He barely gets out of the way and one of the swords slices through Sofia's door. _You won't always protect me! We're a team!_ Zakuro squeezes her fingers and metal rods like claws emerge from each of her fingers. Her canine tail moves slowly back and forth as her eyes sharpen and start to look like a wolf's. She leaps out and tries to injure the woman, but only succeeds in knocking her over.

The woman leaps up and charges toward her, but meets a burst of electricity from Pai. The woman squeezes her fists tightly together and becomes surrounded by some sort of force field. She approaches them, destroying the concrete where she walks.

Pai and Zakuro walk slowly backwards. They walk into another trailer and start to jump, but before they can move, the woman is above them. Pai stands in front of Zakuro and is hit with a burst of energy. Again and again, Zakuro sees him writhe in pain.

_I want to help him! _

The golden piece around her neck begins to glow. From it emerges a miniature purple sword that glows in front of her. She watches as Pai transforms into the Purple Knight. His wounds instantly heal and he uses the shine of his sword to mirror back the attacks. The woman falls back. Zakuro emerges from behind him, facing the woman, livid.

Zakuro places her hands on his sword, eyes shut, allowing her own energy to enter it. She turns to the woman, her wolf eyes boring through her. "Mew Mew Zakuro. Me-ta-mo-ri-pho-sis" she whispers and changes into her other form.

Pai swings his sword at her throwing the burst of energy. At first, it seems as thought the woman has escaped, it, but Zakuro forces her to take the blow.

"Zakuro Spear!" her whip grabs the woman's leg as she is brought directly into the blast. It knocks her out cold.

Zakuro lands next to Pai, who is as shocked as she.

"A Purple Knight..." Zakuro muses. She looks at Pai's expression. "No. Don't even think about leaving. We made this decision together, and we are going to win this battle together."

"You're a strong woman, Sofia."

Lindsay found herself practicing Kung Fu at her late father's dojo. It had been months since she'd stepped inside, but today, she found she needed to clear her mind.

She kicks the punching bag and almost knocks it over.

She hears a clapping sound behind her. A bald, thin, muscular man approaches. "Lindsay, you really should take over the dojo. You've always been the strongest and no one would question your right to it."

She picks up her towel and wipes her head. "I'll think about it." The question saddens her. Truth betold, she wanted to, but just not yet. Her father had spent years drilling their style of Kung Fu into her at that very dojo. She just wasn't ready yet.

"I understand," he says, walking away.

Lindsay watches him leave with his son who was pledged to marry Lindsay should she take over the dojo. She takes a swig of water and sets back to pounding the bag.

Outside, Taruto watches. An object flashes in his left hand. He throws it in the window and it morphs into something akin to a giant crocodile. It only takes a second for Purin to notice.

"Mew Mew Purin! Me-ta-mo-ri-pho-sis!"

Mew Purin sets to attack. "Pudding Ring! Infer-" she stops, well aware of the price to her father's memory if she misses.

"What's wrong, Monkey?" Taruto taunts. The crocodile begins to destroy the dojo.

"No!" Purin leaps and tries to stop it, but gets thrown down. "Purin Henshin!" She concentrates and prepares to throw lightening, but realizes she can't guarantee she won't miss. "Taruto!" She yells teary-eyed. "Please! Don't have us fight here!"

Taruto stops for a second, hit by her plea for a moment. Then he responds, "No! You all took my brother! Destroy everything!" he commands the beast.

Purin shoots a blast of electricity, but the monster easily dodges it, causing the blast to blow a hole in the wall. Purin wails. She runs toward the monster again, attempting to kick it, but she causes no damage. It's too heavy. Nothing she tries works, and she can only watch as piece by piece is collapses to the ground.

Taruto watches as the beast smashes rows of picture frames and Purin scampers to catch one of a handsome Chinese man. She clutches it to her chest. She then rushes to the other side where the crocodile has knocked over several swords.

His heart stops as he catches her broken glance.

"Stop..." he whispers. The beast pauses. He holds out his hand, and it returns to him. His heart aches as she picks up broken pieces. He flies away.

Purin clutches the photo in one hand and a sword in the other. Behind her, the north wall crumbles.


	16. Chapter 16

_**Chapter 16: Confession**_

The four Mews clean up the dojo in silence. The only sound is the occasional sob from Lindsay. Shattered glass, broken swords, fallen beams, flattened walls... they all knew it was over for this place, but they knew Lindsay needed this. She needed to try to put things back the way they were. Lindsay sets the picture of her dad against a remaining wall. She looks at it for a moment before turning it to face the wall. She didn't want her father to see the state of his life's work.

For hours this went on until Nagia excused herself to meet Andrew and Iva had to head home to entertain guests at her parents' dinner party. She softly excused herself and was picked up by a limo.

Within the hour, they were back at her mansion and Iva was engrossed in her facade. She greeted everyone from famous sports stars to movie stars to dignitaries with perfect poise, but her mind was elsewhere, wishing she could be comforting Lindsay. The thought itself surprised her, as she'd never bothered with friendships, but it also soothed her, and made her feel less like a made up doll. But, her parents would have none of it.

Laughing came from her left side. She turned with a flawless smile before realizing he was laughing and staring at her. Still, she aimed to be polite. "Are you having a good time?" she asks gently.

"So you have this side too." he responds, chuckling again.

Iva starts to become annoyed, but tries not to show it, "What are you talking about?"

He walks up to her and whispers in her ear, "This isn't how you act as a Mew Mew." her eyes widen and she pulls back. Without thinking, she grabs his hand and leads him away from the party, but not too far so she can't scream if needed.

"Who are you," Iva demands.

He pulls out a miniature blue sword. "Henshin," He suddenly dons longer hair and blue outfit.

_The Blue Knight!_ Iva thinks.

"So fine. So you know Mew Minto. Is there some reason you've transformed?" she folds her hands, turning the other way, pretending not to care.

"Yeah," he leans over and puts his face a few inches from hers. She stands her ground, shocked and trying not to show her weakness, though she feels herself getting sucked in by his deep periwinkle eyes. "I'm hopelessly in love with you."

Anger wells up in Iva. She slaps him hard, "How dare you do that to Ichigo! After you just confessed to her!"

"Huh?" He jumps back, rubbing his face.

She ignores him, "And how dare you think I am so easy as to be your rebound!" she starts to stomp off, but he grabs her, earning him a slap on the other cheek. "I am not that kind of girl!" He lets her go, and she keep walking, leaving him frozen and staring after her.

Nagia and Andrew sat across from one another at a local pizza. Like last time and the time before, Andrew did homework, asking Nagia the occasional question, as Nagia studied the educational system. And, as usual, Andrew paid more attention to anything besides Nagia, but today Nagia was determined. _Today I will confess... so I can move on!_

She clenched her fists. "Andrew," she started.

He looked up at her. Her heart felt like it would beat out of her chest. She panicked and tried to find something in the parlor worthy of calling his name over, but failed. She looked back at him. He was still watching her, waiting for her to continue.

"Um..." she fiddles with the napkin in her lap. She shut her eyes tight. "Suki desu!" A long silence ensues. She looked at him. He sat there, astonished. _Oh crap! He knows what I said! How embarrassing... _though she knew she didn't have to, she whispered, "It means... I li-" Andrew leaped from his seat and embraced her. Nagia leaned into his shoulder and wrapped her arms around him. The two remained in silence, even as they could feel Nagia's cell phone vibrate. Nothing could separate them as the snow fell that December day.

Kisshu sits about 15 miles from downtown, staring listlessly at the lights. He envies Pai deeply for being reunited with his love, but he can't seem hate his brother. He forces himself to smile, remembering his duty to keep Taruto from going after them. He shuts his eyes and replays the episode where Kisshu sacrifices himself to protect Ichigo in his head. His breathing becomes faster as he thinks of being held by her as he dies. It's the only thing that has kept him going since he learned his identity as Kisshu. He'd already memorized every scene where he and Ichigo were together in the manga and the anime, dreaming about the only woman who could accept him in that form. And preparing his heart to let her go to another man.

"Kisshu..." Taruto stands next to him. Kisshu faces him with an expression of pained death.

Taruto had grown up reading the story too, and figures that was what Kisshu is thinking about. Suddenly, he kneels down and punches the floor, sobbing, surprising Kisshu. Taruto's hands began to bleed.

"Taruto!" he yells out as he shakes his brother by the shoulders. Taruto stops punching the ground.

"Those d- mews! If only they didn't exist! We were happy! All three of us were together and Vortex treated us kindly..." he jerks away. He remembers Purin crying out to him and angrily covers his face. "I failed! I could have killed her, and I failed! I couldn't kill that d- monkey!" he starts to pace. "If only I had killed her! This would all end! Her stupid crying face!"

Kisshu relaxes, realizing Taruto had, on some level, become taken with Purin. A part of him began to panic, realizing he was steadily moving toward his death. Even though he'd hoped he'd come back to life again like the Kisshu in the story, he was, at the same time, afraid to experience that death. And afraid he wouldn't be able to come back. He watches as Taruto paces, not realizing he's blushing.

"You seem like you aren't being honest with yourself, Taruto."

Taruto whirls on him. "You're one to talk! Acting all high and mighty in front of Ichigo when you are really scared to death!" he points right in Kisshu's face. "You drag around the manor looking like a sad sack all the time. You're the one not being honest!" Taruto stomps off livid, leaving his words echoing through Kisshu.


	17. Chapter 17

_**Chapter 17: Shiro. Kane.**_

"Oh pick up, Ichigo..." Iva sets the phone down on her desk angrily. _That creep! So... just any Mew will do? _She powders her nose. _Why is he at my party anyway? Spoiled playboy..._ She looks in the mirror once more before heading out of her room to rejoin the party.

As she descends the stairs, she looks through the crowd, but doesn't see him. She snickers. _He won't be out and about for a while with those red cheeks! Oh you totally deserved it..._ As she reaches the bottom, she is approached by the son of a dignitary from Qatar. He bows politely and kisses her hand. She curtsies and they began a conversation of pleasantries.

A few minutes later, she sees him, now detransformed, exit the study and begin to mingle. She glares at him and catches his eye. Once she sees she has his gaze, she begins to act as though she is having an absolutely perfect time with the dignitary's son. She can feel his displeasure from across the room, which makes her feel all the better. _Ah yes... _she thinks to herself about the dignitary's son _now this is the perfect gentleman. Take notes, you creep..._

Ahimsa helps Lindsay pick up a few more items before Lindsay finally requests to be alone. Ahimsa reluctantly leaves her, sitting in the dojo, surrounded still surrounded by broken items.

Ahimsa stands outside. She looks around, then realizes she has no way to get home. She groans and pulls out her phone to search train rides back to the city. _Leaving in 20 min..._

Luckily, the station was close, and she arrives within 10 min. The station was completely empty other than her and a businessman. She takes a seat on one of the benches at the platform and leans back to rest. Her mind wanders as she thinks about the last couple of months. She envisions herself as a teacher in an elegant school, surrounded by students with powers. She smiles. _Very X-men, _she thinks happily.

She hears a footstep in front of her and opens her eyes. The businessman cups his hand over her face and grabs her with another. She smells alcohol all over him. She shakes and whimpers, but can't break free. _I can't transform! I'm not touching the jewel!_she panics as he begins to remove her coat. _Please! Someone please save me! _Tears fall down her face as he rips her shirt and buttons fly everywhere. She feels cold metal against her neck.

"You move, I'll kill you. Nod if you understand."

Ahimsa nods rapidly.

He starts to move on top of her when a figure appears behind him, knocking him out with a wooden bat. The drunkard falls to the ground.

The rescuer reaches out his hand and helps Ahimsa up. Ahimsa doesn't look at him, thankful, but still embarrassed about her appearance and the situation. He takes off his coat and wraps her in it. Ahimsa begins to button it, but her hands are shaking too much, so he helps her. As he buttons the final button, Ahimsa looks up at him.

He's a handsome rugged blonde wearing jeans and a thin shirt. Ahimsa stares at his arms, where she can see goosebumps and his hair standing up from the cold. He finishes the button and begins to walk away, but she grabs arm. He turns to her and she looks down and lets go.

"Thank you." she says softly.

"It's nothing. Something any man would do."

"Would you tell me your name?"

Ahimsa looks up at him, but her attention quickly turns elsewhere. Behind him approach two figures. The first, a man with long brown hair. The second, the masked woman who kidnapped her months ago.


	18. Chapter 18

_**Chapter 18: Why I am**_

The train arrives. The conductor walks out and watches her, expecting her to get in, but she doesn't move. Part of her fears being alone with them as she remembers the masked woman, but the other part of her needs to know about them.

Soon, the conductor motions the train to leave, and it speeds away, leaving Ahimsa alone with them. She begins to breathe hard, now fully realizing the stupidity of her decision. She looks at each one carefully. _A rough-looking blonde... An elegant man with long brown hair... _They stare back at her, saying nothing.

She starts, "Shiro-gane," she points at her rescuer. "A-Akasaka," she points at the long-haired man. She turns to the masked woman. "Ma-sha?" she bends her finger and steps back again.

"Yep." the woman responds. She touches her mask and removes it to reveal a cute, pink robotic face like a larger version of the anime Masha's. "With a slight upgrade." she bows as her thin, long pink tail sways like a cat's in the air, then replaces the mask.

Ahimsa drops to the floor in disbelief. Akasaka kneels in front of her and reaches out his hand. "My apologies, Miss Senoy." she takes it and he helps her up before continuing. "You are right." he bows, "for your purposes, I am Akasaka and he is Shirogane, though, like you, we do have our own names. But, feel free to refer to us using those."

Ahimsa finally gains the ability to speak, "What is going on? Why was I chosen? Why was Masha so rough! Did you also give powers to the aliens? Have you been giving powers to every-" she goes on for a good few minutes before falling silent.

"We've only given the Mews powers in response to another who gave out the powers of villains" Shirogane moves into deep thought, "and they've recruited a lot of those who have evolved powers on their own." He turns to her. "Therefore, one of the most important things you will ever do is start that school. Your school will become a training center for the army that will protect our world from them."

_Our school? Our school we are starting just to make more money and lure in Zakuro will become..._

"Nagia says that will take years! Only Sofia is of college age... we're all-"

"That's ok. It's ok. You'll make it happen." Akasaka steps in, seeing Ahimsa's stress.

Ahimsa turns to him, "I know he can't see more than a couple years into the future! How can you be so sure we can do something so huge?"

Silence ensues. Ahimsa begins to panic again.

"Because you were the only ones to get as far as my sight in the scenario." Shirogane shrugs. "All of the other combinations of people and types of powers I ran through giving them failed even before meeting Deep Blue."

"So... we will meet Deep Blue..." Ahimsa begins to worry about Ichigo. "And? Then what? We win?"

Another silence ensues.

"Come on! You saw us win, right? We are victorious and everything ends as a 'happily ever after'?" No response. They all avoid her gaze. She grabs Shirogane by the collar, losing it from the implied stress, and forces him to look at her.

"I can't see past the first few seconds of the final battle."

"So, that means it's a few years off."

"No, on February 15th the fate of our earth will be decided."

"Then why can't you see?"

"I don't know. The only thing I can think of is something too significant will happen that bends time and space so I can't see beyond it."

She begins to shake him. "We could die! You gave us these powers and we could die!" Akasaka and Masha pull her away from him. "The other Mews believe in you! We've seen so many things happen like in the story that everyone lives believing this was all meant to be and if we work hard, we will be victorious! Just like the characters! We hate you for kidnapping us, but we've lived believing you know more about the future! We trust you so much we've left the whole matter alone and haven't even tried to find you!" she pulls hard against Masha and Akasaka, but they hold on too tight. "And you are sending a bunch of young girls into this kind of fight? What kind of a man are you!"

He can't face her. He knows. He's seen this day. He's heard her words a thousand times. Masha moves to put her hand on Ahimsa's shoulder, but she shudders. Masha pulls back, dejected, but understanding.

"I had to choose." he finally speaks. Her sobs pierce him. "If there was any other way, I would have chosen it. The army, different people, different powers, nuclear bombs!" He hangs his head. "Nothing. I saw every other scenario end with the dictatorship of Deep Blue. Children murdered. Entire countries void of life. This scenario was the only one I couldn't see past the battle." he pauses, "I won't ask for your forgiveness, Ahimsa. Nor that of the other Mews. I needed that hope. We all needed that small chance of living."

Ahimsa stops struggling. Another train arrives. Not wanting to stay a second later, she runs onto it. Not only loathing that this man's shirt touched her body, but hating herself for even partially understanding him. The train door closes behind her as she heads home, trying to figure out how to tell the others.


	19. Chapter 19

_**Chapter 19: War Defined**_

The next morning, Nagia wakes up to more of her mother's burnt flap jacks. As she enters the kitchen, she sees a pile of charbroiled patties. But, nothing can ruin her perfect Christmas Eve. _I still can't believe Andrew likes me!_ She smiles to herself, not noticing her family staring at her.

She bites down on a flapjack and it crumbles in her mouth. She chews, not paying attention.

Her family, already having given up on the pancakes, snicker as they butter toast.

Soon, Nagia begins to help clean up, humming a happy tune. After a while, her father and sister leave, and her mother begins to wipe the counters. She moves a pile of mail and a letter falls out.

"Hmmm... I don't recognize this bank..." she picks it up. "To Mr. and Mrs. Johnston regarding your mortgage?" she opens it and begins to read. "Hm..." her expression turns sour.

Nagia sees this and asks, "Mom, what's wrong?"

"It seems our bank isn't handling our mortgage like I thought they were. They are really just a broker. We are with some other bank I've never heard of." she hands Nagia the letter.

Nagia begins to read, only interested because it bothers her Mom. She skims through, but stops at the end, shaking.

Her mom dries a pot. "Have you heard of that bank, Sweetie?"

Nagia tries to put on a smile. "No, Mom. I haven't." She puts the letter down and starts the leave the kitchen.

"Ya know, a lot of people go to their bank thinking they are really getting financing from them. There are going to be so many angry people when they realize their mortgages have been sold to someone else. You know, most of the country uses this bank." her mom starts washing another pot.

Nagia stops. "You mean the majority of the houses in our country are owned by them?" she tries not to let her mom see her panic.

"Yes, sweetie. The bank buys your house for you and you pay them back over a few decades. So, yes. They own our houses," she pauses. "And businesses." She thinks for a second. "And buildings. And hospitals..." she dries the dish then turns to her daughter, who was already half up the stairs.

Nagia races to her room and shuts the door. She grabs her cell and texts a 9-1-1 to Iva, Ahimsa, Lindsay, and Sofia. "Emergency meeting. NOW."

The girls gather in one of the library study rooms. Pai enters last along with Sofia.

"What? Why the 9-1-1?" Iva finally demands once the last Mew had entered.

"We are in major trouble, Mews. Deep Blue owns us. Perhaps all of us. He's purchased our mortgages. Our loans. Sofia told us about Vortex overseeing the new dome Downtown. Well according to my mom's mortgage information, that is the location of the bank that is buying out business from all the other banks." Nagia hits the table. "We're at a major disadvantage here! He's even using the name Deep Blue Bank! He's laughing at us! We expected a fight to the finish. Powers, fists, etc. Like all major villains. We've been playing this like it is all a game, but this is reality! OUR OPPONENT OWNS US!"

Sofia sets to researching her parents' banks. She leans on Pai's shoulder for support as she finds that the bank that finances their loans is Deep Blue Bank.

Iva finds the same is true for her mansion.

Ahimsa realizes the ones who financed her brothers' $400,000 medical degrees were underwritten by Deep Blue Bank.

Lindsay finds her house and her father's dojo are under Deep Blue Bank.

The girls all stay silent for a few minutes, allowing the new information to sink in.

"Then how can we win?" Ahimsa timidly asks. "He's already won! He's going to be a dictator... We can't even stop him. Shirogane..."

"Shirogane?" Sofia asks. "Have you met Shirogane?"

Ahimsa burst into tears and tells of the ordeal leaving the Mews once again silent. Everyone turns toward Ichigo.

It only takes her a moment to rise, determination in her eyes. "The first thing we need to do is make our debut early. We need all the money we can get as fast as we can get it. We're in a war, and we are being attacked on all sides. We need money to fight back."

"I'll debut with you." Sofia announces. The others look at her shocked, but soon change their expressions to understanding. "In addition, I would like to talk to you about Pai. He's become a Purple Knight." She goes on, to the surprise of all the Mews, to explain his transformation.

"Thank you, Sofia." Nagia turns to everyone. "Be aware of potential new Knights and allies. This is a war. I am counting on every one of you to bring your best. We're going to bring down Vortex, Deep Blue, and the one who created them."

Ahimsa stares at Ichigo, then the others, who have been so positively affected by her hope. Her eyes well up again, but she quickly wipes the tears away. _Keep hoping, Ichigo. Perhaps your faith can bring us a happy ending._


	20. Chapter 20

_**Chapter 20: The Indigo Knight**_

During winter break, Nagia worked so hard she didn't have time to see Andrew. Every time he asked her out, she would list some random thing she had to do, while really she was preparing for their debut, researching schools, or training. Every day was filled from the moment she woke up until she turned out the lights to go to sleep.

The same was largely true for the other mews. Each had their own assignments.

Sofia paid for Lindsay's dojo to be repaired while keeping her eyes out for any recruits for the school on her travels. Pai kept in contact with Kisshu in order to gather information from the inside on the plans of the higher ups. Lindsay, being small for her age, snuck into schools and searched for teachers with abilities who could guide future students. Iva created awareness in sly casual conversation of Deep Blue bank and their power. Needless to say, high society was not thrilled to find themselves feeling secretly undermined. Word began to travel quickly. Ahimsa set to finding cheap land and buildings where their school could get their start.

On the last day of winter break, Nagia's phone rings. She picks up on the 4th chime. "Hello?"

"Hey."

Her heart skips a beat. She longs to meet him.

"Hey. I'm sorry I haven't been able to spend much-" Nagia starts.

"We need to talk."

_Oh no. I hadn't really thought about the possibility of him breaking up with me! NO!_

Andrew continues. "I'm right outside your house. May we take a walk?"

"Ok. I'll be right there." she grabs her coat and heads out the door.

Iva finds herself at another party. She would have been committed to her mission, but she was stopped by the same guy as last time.

"Hello, Iva." he stands a few feet away from her this time.

She curtsies and tries to act polite while motioning for him to follow her to the next room. She delicately takes a seat. "Now, before you speak, I would like to make something very clear." she folds her hands on her lap. "Unless you have some sort of business proposition, I want nothing to do with yo-"

"Why are you being like this? I told you! I've really, honestly and truthfully, never hit on Ichigo."

She looks at him.

"Then who did? It isn't as though there is more than one-" she freezes for a second before rising. She stares at him and pulls out her cell phone. She dials rapidly, then looks at him. "Transform."

"Henshin." he does.

"Nagia! Pick up!" Iva dials again, but with no response. She stares at the Knight in Blue. _He has periwinkle eyes instead of blue... his hair is long and brown instead of blonde... not to mention, his outfit does look more indigo than blue... And Pai is a Purple Knight...Maybe he isn't the Blue Knight... meaning..._ She freezes. _Meaning Andrew still could be the Blue Knight._

Iva thinks for a second. "Who are you anyway? Why are you at my party?"

"My Dad's a billionaire," he shrugs, knowing it won't impress her.

Iva gets back to her cellphone. "Ah. I see." _Nagia!_ She closes the phone. "I've got to get to Nagia before she gets herself really hurt. My limo is in the garage and packed in by all the guests. Did you drive?"

"Yeah... and I came here pretty much last, so my car is right by the street... but why are we looking for... Nagia?"

"She's Mew Ichigo, and it is none of your concern!" Iva raids a nearby closet and finds a coat that is clearly not her own. The sleeves extend well beyond her arms and the coat itself is in a man's style. She opens a window and motions him out.

"I am the one driving..." he says softly as he pulls out his keys and follows her. "You are about the most unpredictable girl I know, Minto..." he laments under his breath. Then, he grins to himself. _Though, I can't say I don't like them spicy._

Iva and the billionaire's son get to Ichigo's house just as she runs out to meet Andrew.

"Oh no..." Iva softly wails.

"I'm really missing the problem with this scenario," the son states both annoyed and curious.

Iva lays back. "We know the story. Andrew is the Blue Knight."

"Yeah..."

"We thought he wasn't because we saw you save Ichigo back at the library while Andrew was standing there!"

"Still wondering why I'm here instead of eating caviar... Not that I mind being with you tho-"

Iva turns to him suddenly, "He knew she was Nagia and Mew Ichigo. But he didn't tell her he was Andrew and the Blue Knight. Nagia has been agonizing over the two of them, and lately, she made her decision, but had been saying so many things about Andrew to the Blue Knight. She is going to be so embarrassed." Iva covers her face and leans back again.

"So, basically, he was pursuing the same girl from two different angles..."

"Yeah..."

"He's a coward, but don't you think she'll forgive him?"

"Yeah, but I'm sure she'd rather have known before going out with him. Now it's like his cowardly plan has succeeded. She's going to feel so tricked... Not to mention, this probably means he's Deep Blue too..." Iva looks out the window, but they've already gone.

"What will you do?"

"We have to tell her. Before she gets in too deep in this relationship, she needs to know all the facts." Iva sighs. "I'll tell her at practice tomorrow. Which, you should come too."

"Why should I come?" he leans in. "You don't even know my name."

"Yes I do... it's..." Iva thinks for a second, then shrugs. "Oh tell me..."

"Anton..."


	21. Chapter 21

_**Chapter 21: The Other Side**_

Nagia hangs her head, following Andrew, expecting the worst.

"Nagia," Andrew starts.

"Hmm?" she asks, barely opening her mouth.

He stops and faces her. She looks up into his beautiful sapphire eyes and lets herself feel embraced by his gaze.

He blushes. "I want to talk about us..." he looks away. Nagia waits for him to continue. "I want to talk about...college."

Nagia lets out a small snicker, to which he stares at her, startled. She covers her mouth.

"Why are you laughing?" he asks.

"I thought you wanted to break up with me, Andrew. I mean... I haven't really had time to spend with you lately..."

He wraps his arms around her. "I know, and I miss you, but I know you must be working on something very important, and I want you to know that I will never stand in the way of your ventures."

Nagia hugs him back. "Thank you." In her heart, she wishes she could tell him about her being a mew, but she decides not to. _Maybe if I never mention it, it will never affect our relationship. I love being free of this whole mess when I'm with you, Andrew._

She shuts her eyes and feels him pull away from her. Her eyes jerk open in surprise just as she sees his face move toward hers. She feels his lips lightly brush hers, then press in harder. She shuts her eyes and kisses him back.

Suddenly Nagia stops. Andrew pulls back and looks at her.

"Something wrong?"

_I just imagined the Blue Knight... I haven't purged my feelings for him! I'm awful! Kissing Andrew like this when I still have the Blue Knight in my heart. _She stares at him, longing for him, but hating how disgusting she felt.

"I want to be completely yours when I kiss you, Andrew, but there is... someone I met who confessed to me..." she struggles to get the words out. "He saved my life a couple times and... I just want a little time because..." she stares in his eyes, embarrassed, "I want to only have feelings for you." She watches Andrew's expression, relieved not to see the disgust she felt for herself. He embraces her.

"I-It's ok, Nagia. T-Thank you."

Nagia feels his heart beat wildly inside his chest. _Why does he seem in pain?_

Andrew lets go and offers to walk her home. They hold hands all the way.

Minto sits in Antons car, head in her hands. She sighs deeply. "Take me home." she finally says.

Anton puts the car into drive without a word.

_I've gotta tell her... I've gotta tell her... _She looks at Anton. "You know, you really did cause a mess."

"Huh?"

"Nothing..."

They ride back to the mansion in silence as it begins to rain.

COUGH COUGH

Lindsay wipes her brow and looks around the dojo, dizzy. Finally, the last photo had been placed in a frame and hung up again. She takes a seat on the floor and stares blankly at the destroyed north wall.

"Purin Henshin". She transforms, hoping that form would give her more strength to lift the concrete. She staggers to pull herself up and makes her way to the wall.

CRASH

Thunder echoes though the dojo, and rain begins to fall on her as she takes hold of it. _The rain will mess up the wood! Come on! _She tells herself as she struggles harder.

The ground around her begins to turn into mud. She slips in it and falls on her side with a splash. She tries to roll over on her stomach to get up, but fails.

She gasps for air. _Someone! Help!_ She cries in her mind as she shivers in the rain and mud. A face appears before her just as the world turns black.

When Purin opens her eyes, she sees a giant ant pushing the wall into place. Then, something cold touches her forehead. She jerks away.

"Oh you're awake now, Stupid Monkey?" Purin looks up to see Taruto just as he drops the wet cloth on her face. She pushes it away slowly to peek at him. "Making me play babysitter..." he grumbles, but his face is red.

"Taruto," she tries to pull herself up, but he whirls around and pushes her down forcefully, startling her.

He then jumps back, "Don't get up, Dummy!" He faces a corner, redder. "You're temperature is still high... so..."

"Thank you, Taruto."

He faces her, and his face turns redder than a beat all the way to his ears. "Ah... don't thank me! I'm the one who got you into this mess anyway..."

"You're also the one who saved me." she smiles at him.

Taruto collapses on the ground, defeated.

For the rest of the night, he silently nursed her as various chimera anima repaired the wall.


	22. Chapter 22

_**Chapter 22: The Yellow Knight**_

Taruto feels something soft poke his face. He turns over and pulls a blanket over his eyes. His nostrils are filled with a sweet, feminine scent. His eyes jerk open and he shoots into the sky, only to bump his head on the roof of the dojo.

Lindsay laughs, and he stares at her, bewildered as he rubs his aching head.

Slowly, it comes back to him. _The d- monkey... _He looks at her angrily, but his face softens as he watches her laughing at him.

His eyes turn to where he slept, and he turns red. _I-I-I... slept next to her! _He stares at her, shocked to see her still smiling. He gulps, embarrassed.

Finally, Lindsay stops laughing. She motions for him to come into the kitchen. He follows, still in the air.

From the kitchen, he can smell eggs, bacon, and french toast. His mouth waters as she fixes him a plate with butter and maple syrup.

"Here," Lindsay holds it out to him. He notices her wearing her short cheerleading uniform, and looks away.

She giggles at his bashfulness and sets to eating.

The two eat in silence, completely aware of each other.

"Thanks again, Taruto," Lindsay starts, blushing a bit herself.

Taruto nods and says nothing, too embarrassed to speak.

"Today's the pep-rally..." Lindsay starts, motioning to her uniform. "You should come see me."

He stands up. "I-I gotta go..." he starts out the door, but stops. "Be careful... you're b-b-body may not be all better yet..." He flies away, leaving her smiling after him.

At the pep rally, Lindsay tries to give her squad all of her focus, but she finds her eyes scouring the crowd for Taruto. Finally, she sees a suspicious character, about his height, wearing a cap and sweatshirt. She beams and glances at him throughout the performance.

She can't help but smile every time he averts his eyes when she does a kick or a jump. _He's so cute!_ She thinks.

Afterwards, they meet up in the fields. Lindsay runs to him, having changed into her cheerleading pants for his comfort. She embraces him tightly, and he pretends as though he wants to be let loose, but soon gives in, embracing her back.

Meanwhile, Nagia and Ahimsa had seen Lindsay staring at Taruto during the performance and figured out what was going on, so they watch from the bushes fan-girling over the scene. Nagia gets an idea and whispers to Ahimsa.

"Retasu, henshin!" She transforms and causes water to soak the area around them.

Within seconds, Lindsay had tripped, bringing Taruto down with her until he was on top of her.

Nagia and Retasu high five.

Lindsay and Taruto stare at one another, nose to nose, both too shocked to breathe. Taruto touches her face gently, then begins to caress it, losing control. Lindsay looks up at him, while leaning into his tender touch.

Taruto feels like his heart could beat out of his chest. _She's a Mew... I'm betraying him! The one who saved me... _He watches her, lying there on her back in the mud beneath him, waiting for him to move. It was the first time he had ever been in a situation like this. _I can't take my eyes off of her... I... I want her... _His chest hurts deeply. _This stupid monkey... _He leans in to kiss her, and she shuts her eyes.

"Taruto!" A deep but feminine voice yells.

Lindsay and Taruto find themselves facing a woman in black with a pitchfork-shaped scepter.

"Oh I've said you were given too much freedom..." she begins to wave the scepter back and forth as a dirty, sickening energy begins to come out. "But everyone said, 'Taruto won't betray us! We rescued him! When he was dying of hunger, we saved him!'" She moves closer.

Taruto stands up and plants himself between the woman and Lindsay, arms outstretched, shaking. Lindsay looks up at him, eyes filled with tears of joy. She stands up.

"Purin, Henshin." She joins him, taking his right hand in both of hers. At once, their hands feel warm, then begin to glow. When the glow subsides, Taruto finds himself holding a small yellow sword.

"Henshin." he says, unable to take his eyes off of Purin as he becomes the yellow knight. Then, at once, Dark Purin and The Yellow Knight face the woman, who had become engulfed in deep rage at being ignored. They dodge a ball of evil energy, which hits a tree and kills it instantly.

Taruto brings his hands together and pulls out a pair of sharp nunchucks. Purin saults behind him, charging the weapons with electricity.

The woman races toward them and tries to stab Taruto with her scepter, but he catches the spikes with the nunchucks, sending volts of energy through it, effectively electrocuting the woman.

She is thrown back against a tree.

Purin throws her scepter far behind them and recharges Taruto's nunchucks while preparing electricity for herself.

They see energy flow from the scepter into the woman. At first slowly, then, it began to move faster. The clouds begin to swirl as she draws energy from their dust. It becomes windy, and dirt with sharp rocks begin to fly around them.

Purin screams as one scratches her face. Taruto runs to her and covers her with his body. Taruto flinches every time a rock cuts him. Purin tries to push him away, hating to see him hurting as he protected her, but he she could not budge him. She wraps her arms around his neck, tears falling every time she feels him reel, hoping one of the rocks would hit her arms instead of him, and save him from pain.

Finally, the wind stops.

Nagia, now Dark Ichigo, motions for Dark Retasu to support the couple. They run closer and closer to the woman, who's eyes have now turned a erie orange swirled with a shiny black and brown. Ichigo sends a quick 9-1-1 text to Minto and Zakuro.

The monster's height has increased about five feet so that she towers over The Yellow Knight and Purin. Taruto collapses in Purin's arms from losing so much blood. Purin watches as the woman comes closer, readying herself to protect Taruto with her life.

The giant woman lets out a growling shriek as she contorts her mouth, which opens to reveal a hundred sharp teeth. Saliva drips from her jaws.

Purin shoots electricity, but it seems to just bounce off. The monster moves closer.

"Over here you ugly creep!" Ichigo successfully distracts the giant while Retasu soaks the ground. By the time the creature knows what is going on, she is already slipping on the earth. She falls in the mud as Retasu, Purin, and Ichigo pull Taruto away.

But, it doesn't take long for the creature to rise again, livid. She reaches out her hand, and the scepter flies to it. She convulses twice, and dragon wings burst through her bony frame. Her fingers lengthen, and her nails become a sickly dark gray.

At that moment, Zakuro and the Purple Knight arrive, neither shocked to see Taruto dressed as a Yellow Knight. Pai starts to tend to his brother, but decides to focus on the monster when he sees Purin tenderly caress him as she bathes him in tears.

Seconds later, Minto arrives, Indigo Knight in tow. At first, Ichigo is shocked to see him, but forgets this as she hears the dragon lady start to stampede.

All of the mews scamper to get out of the way as she breathes in deeply. Zakuro, Pai, and Purin pull Taruto out of the way and Minto, Retasu, and the Indigo Knight easily leap to safety.

Ichigo, however, trips over a protruding root and falls to the ground. She scrambles to get up as the creature bears toward her. _Blue Knight, please save me one more time!_ She feels familiar arms grab her as she soars through the sky. They land, once again, in a nearby tree. Ichigo looks up to see The Blue Knight and breathes a sigh of relief.

She stops. She looks over at the Indigo Knight, then at the Blue Knight. Her mind flashes back to the library, when she was saved by... she looks back at the Indigo Knight. _It may have been blurry, but I swear he had long dark hair..._ She stares at the Blue Knight, realizing her friends were fighting the beast without them below, but needing to ask, "Did you..." she pauses, fearing the answer. "...at the library..." she watches him turn away from her and grit his teeth. "Did you save my life at the library too?"

"No." he responds. She can see the same pain Andrew showed after she confessed she loved the Blue Knight at the park.

Ichigo's heart falls. "Are you..." she begins to feel sick. "Are you … Andrew?"

He nods slowly.

It takes all of her strength to stand up. _No... no... _Her brain doesn't know what to think about first. Her confessions of love about Andrew to Andrew. Those horrible feelings he let her have when she thought she was being unfaithful. She freezes. Those hurt deeply, but they were nothing compared to the one final thought. _He's going to become Deep Blue. My most treasured person is my greatest enemy._ She feels his arms embrace her as he weeps. They sob together, oblivious to the fight of their friends below. She holds onto him so tightly her nails break the skin on his back, wishing with all of her heart they could just escape this madness together.

"No... you won't turn into Deep Blue... You aren't him!"

He sobs with her, betraying his own fears. They stare into each others' eyes. "I don't want to lose you either, Ichigo." He kisses her tenderly. "I love you."

A warm light surrounds them both, stopping the fighting below as everyone tries to cover their eyes. When the light disappears, they find two figures dressed in white, the Blue Knight and Mew Ichigo. Both float with perfect, angelic wings. Ichigo now wears a flowing white dress with a long slit, long white hair, with a single pink streak, the Blue Knight in a white suit with red around the waist and on his cuffs. They land delicately on the ground, tears still on their eyes.

The monster watches them, drowning in fear as it feels their power. It turns to escape.

Ichigo and Andrew take each others' hand in one hand and hold the other out toward the woman. They close their eyes, reveling in the feelings they have for one another, and allowing their hands to charge up with pure light. From their hands shoot a powerful blast, which combines and spirals before hitting the woman, forcing out the evil energy. She collapses, now donning the appearance of a normal woman, in a deep sleep.

They land beside their friends, who immediately gather around to touch their wings.

Anton turns to Minto. "Well, shall we try it?" he puckers up. She rolls her eyes and walks over to see how Taruto is doing.

Taruto revels in the attention from Purin, allowing himself to be cuddled by her as he lay against her chest blissfully.

Everyone gathers around them except Retasu. She shivers in the wind as she looks at Anton, Pai, Taruto, and Andrew in their knight forms, each of them with a Mew. She escapes off into the trees.


	23. Chapter 23

_**Chapter 23: What I Am Not **_

Retasu finds herself atop The Water Tower, Downtown. She ignores the familiar ringtone of her cell for the fourth time. She knows they are looking for her, but she doesn't feel like facing them.

At that moment, she hated herself for feeling so jealous. Something about seeing all of the Mews with a Knight except her set her off.

_Shirogane..._ she thinks to herself. _Retasu liked Shirogane... Perhaps he is my Green Knight? _

She pauses. She remembers him rescuing her from the rapist at the station, but her mind quickly switches to her anger at him for sending her into a fight like this. _You can't hate him, Ahimsa..._ She covers her face. She was caught between wanting to fight with her Knight and her anger against Shirogane.

"You look like you're having a bad day too." Retasu looks up to see Kisshu. He sits next to her, letting his legs dangle over the sides. "I see you've found my favorite spot in the city."

She doesn't respond, and they sit in silence, listening to the cars drive by below.

"Everything is coming into place, isn't it?" Kisshu says softly. Retasu looks at him.

Kisshu points to the dome, which is now almost complete. "Vortex announced we will be attacking on February 15th." His hand drops. He struggles not to tear up, but fails.

A gust of wind flies by, catching Retasu's hair. She stares at him, realizing her loneliness was nothing compared to Kisshu's future.

They stay in silence a bit longer before Kisshu gets up.

"Why don't you join us? I'm sure everyone would be glad to have you on the team."

He gives a fake laugh. "Someone needs to look out for you all from the inside."

"What if you are found out? I mean, what if they realize you are spying for us?"

"They probably already have," he begins to float. "Tell Pai to treasure Sofia... And tell Purin to take care of Taruto." He gives her a warm, teary smile. "And tell Ichigo I'm rooting for her."

"Kis-"

He teleports away.

Retasu hears her phone ring and answers it, much to the relief of all of the Mews. She feeds them a story about a family emergency and quickly gets off the phone with new determination.

She leaps building to building and heads home to get Shirogane's shirt. _Kisshu can't be with the one he loves, but __I am going to find my Green Knight..._ she resolves.

The next day, Ahimsa finds herself, address in hand and carrying Shirogane's clean shirt in a bag, heading to meet Shirogane. Her hands shake as she walks. _Aw man! I am so creepy! Tracking down a guy using his shirt... no... he owes me more information!... About the Mew Project... yeah... I'm not being a stalker... Ack!... or maybe I'm being dumb going to the house of someone I barely even know... _She freezes. _What if I'm kidnapped!... Wait... that's already happened... _She starts walking again.

Before she knows it, she finds herself in front of an old, seemingly-abandoned building on the North side. To the left and right are heavily-weeded fields.

_This is definitely not a cute, pink cafe... _

She knocks twice on the door and waits. Several people pass by on the sidewalk and give her weird looks.

She waits a moment and knocks again. Nothing. She checks her address just as the door opens to reveal Akasaka.

He motions her in with a bow.

Ahimsa slowly enters, but speeds up once her eyes adjust to the interior. She looks all around to see red and white heart-shaped chairs in an abolutely adorable pink cafe just like in the anime. Her thoughts go back to the exterior of the establishment, which was unkept and seemed to be falling apart. She looks at Akasaka.

"We're working on it," he smiles and motions her towards a door. He opens it for her, revealing a set of stairs leading to a lit room below. She can hear metal tinkering below.

She enters and Akasaka follows, closing the door behind them. They descend the stairs, leading them to a room full of beakers, test tubes, gadgets, computers... In the center of the room, Shirogane was altering some sort of chip in Masha's back.

Masha's tail wags back and forth when she sees Ahimsa, then, she shrinks down a bit. "Are you mad at Masha?" she asks, trying to be cute.

Ahimsa sighs. "No..."_ Nothing was wrong with the original Masha... this one is so not cute..._

Masha perks up and wags her tail harder. Shirogane grabs it, and disconnects it in one quick movement.

"Hey!" Masha complains.

"Be still!" Shirogane commands as he continues tinkering with her circuits.

Masha slouches.

Ahimsa watches Shirogane, trying to focus on him saving her than sending her and her friends to save the world. He seems to ignore her.

Akasaka starts to ascend the stairs, "I'll bring tea," he annouces.

Ahimsa finds a place to sit, moving several books from an old stool. _What am I doing here! Can I just make him fall in love with me? I know... he has to be my Green Knight... and this is for the fate of the world too!..._

After a few minutes, Akasaka returns with sweet rose tea on a lovely Victorian platter.

He and Ahimsa drink together, watching Shirogane. After what seemed like forever, he finally stops and reattaches Masha's tail. He then closes her back, and points to the other side of the room.

Masha stands and teleports to that side. "It works!" she giggles. "Yay! I'm repaired!" She teleports again, disappearing, and Ahimsa hears crashes upstairs. Akasaka quickly gathers the tea dishes and races up the stairs to the kitchen, leaving Ahimsa and Shirogane alone.

Shirogane moves to his desk and puts on a pair of glasses. He doesn't speak to her for a few minutes.

Finally, he orders, "Go home."

"Huh?" Ahimsa asks. "I haven't even-"

"You're here to pick up your Green Knight. Go home."

Ahimsa remembers he can see into the future. "So, you are my Green Knight?" she asks hopefully.

"Yeah. I am, but it won't work out with us. So go away."

"You may have seen a vision of us, but we haven't even tried! How-" her hope was falling apart around her before it had even begun.

"Look. In the future, you'll admit you just sought me out because you didn't want to feel alone. Not because you had any feelings for me."

This hits Ahimsa. _It's true. I don't have feelings for you... but I know I will!_

"That may be my reasoning now, bu-" He whirls to look at her and she covers her mouth, realizing she said the one thing she shouldn't have. _It's one thing to see something that hasn't happened yet and something completely different to actually hear it as reality!_She catches a quick dejected expression. It disappears as he goes back to his work as if nothing had happened.

She sits there, frozen. _I missed it! I missed it! Oh no... Why couldn't I just concentrate on the fact that he saved me? That's enough to make any girl fall in love... but I can't shake my disgust that he got us into this... Shirogane! I'm trying so hard to stop myself from blaming you!_

"What about th-" she starts.

He cuts her off, "I will be there for the final battle." He levels a stack of papers and begins to write. "You are disturbing me. Please see yourself out. Now."

Ahimsa gets up and runs up the stairs, hoping Akasaka and Masha don't see her cry as she leaves.


	24. Chapter 24

_**Chapter 24: It's All Falling into Place**_

Retasu leans against the gate outside of Shirogane's house, angrily wiping her eyes. She was lonely, but she hadn't thought her motives would hurt him this deeply. Her heart beats hard. She'd never had anyone look at her that way. _I must have really hurt him..._ a tear escapes her barrier as she tries to compose herself a few more minutes. She takes a deep breath, then begins to walk.

She catches herself as she swings the bag. _Oh no! I forgot to leave his shirt!_ She clutches the handle and sighs again before heading toward the train station.

Today, the station is busy, but she is able to find a seat once another train comes and a few people board. She places the bag on her lap. She looks at her phone. Text messages from when she disappeared after the appearance of the Yellow Knight and the new transformation of Nagia and Andrew still remain unanswered. She opens one.

"Ahimsa! We're really worried about you! You just disappeared! Please call or text or anything to let us know you're ok!" - Lindsay

"Retasu, you ok? We miss you! Please call us! We're worried." - Nagia

Tears begin to gush out as she remembers her lie to them. _They really care about me... So this is what it's like. I've never had friendships before... _She begins writing them an email, confessing everything about the last 24 hours.

The next day was their debut.

When Retasu walks in, the girls welcome her with open arms and tears, much to the dismay of their makeup artists. When the waterworks stop flowing, Ichigo calls a meeting.

"This is our more than our debut, ladies." she starts, "This is our main source of power against Deep Blue. He owns the very roofs over our heads, but he does not control our ingenuity. We will use this debut to prevail against him and teach him not to underestimate us."

The girls begin to glow with determination.

"We will become the biggest stars in the industry and use our fame and influence to protect those he has undermined." Ichigo leans in and places her hand between them. She looks at each Mew one by one. "We. Will. Take. Him. Down."

They all place their hands over Ichigo's, united by one dream.

CRASH

They hear an explosion outside. Screams erupt everywhere.

"And we somehow once again expected this to be just that easy..." Minto rises.

The Yellow Knight rushes in. "A chimera anima's outside! And it isn't one of ours!"

"Move out!" Ichigo yells.

Retasu, Purin, Minto, and Zakuro follow Taruto to the main hall where the Indigo Knight, Blue Knight, and Purple Knight are fighting the monster.

The aisles were packed with people screaming and trying to get out.

Suddenly, the hall is filled with their music.

Ichigo, now in her regular Mew form, grabs a microphone. "Welcome to the first concert!" She causes fire to erupt behind all the Mews on beat with the music. "Now, take a seat, and enjoy the show!" she smiles, causing more fire to erupt beautifully all around. The crowd moves to return to their seats, clapping wildly.

The rest of the Mews along with the Knights keep fighting, determined to control this monster and gain the admiration of the crowd.

Ichigo joins them.

Minto does a huge flip over the beast and shoots it with shards of ice. The crowd applauds at her grace.

Retasu wets the ground and Purin electrocutes the water, causing it to slip. The crowd applauds their ingenuity.

Finally, Zakuro bends light so Ichigo, surrounded by the Knights can approach. By the time the monster realizes what is going on, it's too late. It receives a united hit by all four knights and is knocked on its back. Ichigo leaps into the air, "Strawberry Bell! Strawberry Surprise!"

The beast disappears as Ichigo lands gracefully posed with all the others. The crowd rises in whooping applause.

From that point on, the concert was a great success.

Afterward, the Mews enter the dressing room. Each one pats Ichigo on the back, beaming.

"Nice!" Purin yells, ecstatic and with a new admiration for Ichigo. "They thought it was only an act! They bought it! And we won!" She jumps up and down.

Retasu chimes in, "And did you see how full it was? There must have been 10,000 people!"

"I've gotta hand it to you. You saved the show there." Minto admits, no longer trying to hold in her smile.

Zakuro takes a seat, crosses her legs, and sends Ichigo a warm smile. "I certainly see now why you are our leader."

"Thank you, everyone, but we all did it," Ichigo starts. "The only reason I could do something so outlandish is because I knew we would win." she pauses. "We've gotten so much stronger, you guys. Have you noticed? Even without the Knights, we were great. We've really become a team."

A moment of silence ensues as they contemplate her statement. They really had become a team over the last few months.

Retasu looks at the calendar. "One more month..." she says softly. The silence goes on.

The door flies open startling them and revealing their French producer. "Girls! You were magnifique! They love you! They adore you! And that CG monster was brilliant!" he goes on as he leaves, praising them as he goes.

They smile, wondering if days like this would happen after the battle.


	25. Chapter 25

_**Chapter 25: The Last Rehearsal Before the Show**_

The next month proved to be grueling. Every day they worked hard studying in school, studying how to start a school, recruiting possible students and faculty, rehearsing for more concerts, doing concerts, making television appearances, practicing fighting formations... But finally, the battle was only two days away, February 13th.

That night, after practice, Nagia made a strange announcement. "We should take off tomorrow."

The girls look as if she had been replaced by an alien. They had been working everyday non stop because of her.

Her face softens to a point they hadn't seen in months. "We may not survive the battle, so... I want to spend Valentine's Day with Andrew."

A solemness takes over the room as they remember Andrew's relationship to Deep Blue until Sofia speaks, "It has been a while since Pai and I had some time together."

"Taruto! 3" Lindsay exclaims excitedly.

"I guess I could stand spending a bit more time with that creep..." Iva concedes. They giggle, noticing she had become slightly infatuated with him over time.

They catch themselves and look at Ahimsa. She smiles back at them, a warm, but saddened smile. "Go. I will see Shirogane too." They notice a new look about her. Like she had finally come to terms with her responsibilities and had accepted Shirogane's choices.

"Do you..." Lindsay starts, having noticed the expression. "Do you have feelings for him now?"

Ahimsa chuckles a little. "I don't know yet, but I no longer hate him." She looks at each Mew. "Because what he did brought me you all."

"Awww!" they exclaim and she becomes buried in a group hug.

An hour later, Nagia finds herself walking through the park. She stands at the same spot she rescued the homeless man and first encountered Mew Minto's arrow. She looks around, remembering when this first started. She had no friends. No responsibilities to anyone but herself. Now, she had a new business, had researched and trained an elite group of fighters, and was about to go into war to save the world. And, she was doing all this with her closest friends, a group that genuinely loved her, "study-a-holic" and all. If someone had told her she would be about to battle the world's greatest villains only half a year ago, she'd have laughed at them.

She sits in the grass and lets her hair down. It blows gently in the wind. She looks around. She's all alone, but not afraid. She used to fear Deep Blue and Vortex... but at some point, she had changed. Her very being itched to take back and restore the property of her fellow Americans. She deeply wanted to protect them.

But, she also knew that in two days, Andrew would be ripped from her, a fact that had haunted her since she found out he was the Blue Knight. She lays on the ground. Inside, she realizes she should have known it was him with everything being so close to Tokyo Mew Mew after all. But, she was thankful she hadn't realized. Because she didn't, she had spent so many days happily dreaming of their future. She curls up into a tight ball.

Sofia wakes up to the sound of WBBM 780.

"In Frankfort today, a woman found missing boy Kent Saunders in a bush outside of her farm. Authorities say the boy is suffering from dehydration, but will be fine. He has been taken to a local hospital where he was united with his famil-"

Sofia turns off the radio. She smiles, glad to be awakened by a happy ending. She slides out of her bed and steps in her slippers. She then heads to her closet to grab a robe. Within seconds, she exits her room to find the sight that has warmed her every morning for the last couple of months. Daniel lay on her couch, scrunched up in a ball, blanket on the floor next to him.

For a while, she just stares, remembering how he defended her and became her Purple Knight. _You've made me believe in destiny. _Her mind goes back to how he rescued her when they were children.

She approaches him silently, and notices goosebumps on his arms.

Sofia tenderly picks up the blanket and wraps him in it. _Do you know how much I love you? _She leans over to kiss him on the cheek, but he turns over, smiling, and pulls her arm, causing her to land on top of him.

"Oh come on!" she pleads, "I haven't even taken a shower yet!"

He kisses her and grins, "Or brushed your teeth!"

She punches him playfully and tries to escape.

He holds on tight. "Oh my. The great Sofia Estrella in this state? Who would have imagined?" He begins to bathe her in kisses. After a while, he looks at her. To his surprise, he sees her eyes tearing up. He lets her go, but she embraces him.

They stay like that a few moments before he embraces her back. He wanted to tell her they were ready to fight, and they would win this battle, but he couldn't.

No one could know how strong Deep Blue would be.


	26. Chapter 26

_**Chapter 26: Please. Don't Let Me Go**_

Iva takes off her helmet and sets down her sabre. "Not bad. In fact, I am rather impressed."

Anton does the same. "You can't tell you usually fight epee. You were really quite challenging with the sabre."

"I've received training in London." she remarks nonchalantly.

"I see," he holds out his arm. "Join me for dinner?"

She thinks for a second before responding, "Not a chance." She starts to walk down the hallway.

"Oh come on!" he pleads. "I beat you fair and square. You owe me."

She whirls around. "Then you owe me thrice as much!"

He puts his arms in front of his face, surrendering. "Okay okay! Fine."

She enters a hall with beige walls, high ceilings, and red carpeting. They pass a few doors before entering a parlor. There, a maid hands her a tray containing pills and a glass of water. Iva downs the pills quickly before taking a seat. "Why are you following me?" She asks, ticked that he saw her take the medicine.

Anton sits across from her, clearly agitated. "Are you sick?"

"It's medicine so my body won't reject my kidney. I've had it since I was five, and all has been fine, I just need to keep taking the medicine." She crosses her leg, indignant. "Now, will you please go home?"

"The battle is tomorrow. Can't we talk a bit?"

"I really don't have anything to say to you. I've done as my father has requested and fenced with you, so if you would just kindly-"

"Iva, our parents may have arranged our marriage, but I like you. And you won't even give me a chance."

She stands up, immensely annoyed. "How did you and your weak personality become my knight?" _He's nothing like my first love! The one who begged his father to let me have his kidney!_

He sits back, startled.

Iva clears her throat and takes a seat again. "You will be the CEO of a multibillion dollar corporation, and you have been following me around like a puppy. I have no intention of running your corporation as I have my own. I worry you may not have what it-" She catches her eye and immediately shuts her mouth. His eyes radiate not only anger, but a deep sadness. For the first time, she sees his strength is not in what he says, but how he reacts. "I'm so-"

"You really have no idea. The person who gave you that kidney you live off of is dead. My older brother is dead because the other one..." he stands and walks up to her.

"I am so so-"

"Do you know what it took for me to not utterly despise you? I can tell you it wasn't easy to save you at the library, which is why you didn't see me for a while afterward. And, to believe I actually fell in love with you. Stupid me. Big mistake." He gets up and starts to walk out, but is stopped by her hand in his. He turns around to see her kneeling and facing the ground.

"I am so sorry. I had no idea. I really didn't know. Please," she looks up at him, tears filling her eyes. "I caused you so much pain, and I didn't know anything, and you cared for me so much. I-" he leans down and kisses her lightly on the lips. She lifts her hand to slap him, but doesn't, letting herself melt into the kiss of the one who loved her enough to overcome his hatred.

Lindsay and Taruto sit at Lindsay's house enjoying their usual nightly hobby: board games. Tonight it was Chutes and Ladders. The game sat atop the kitchen table bearing specks of pizza sauce and various other goodies from a few days ago.

"Chute again!" Lindsay pouts.

"Haha! Go on! Move it back!" Taruto teases.

"No!" she pulls the piece off the board, playfully.

Taruto tries to snatch it, but she pulls it just out of his reach. "Oh come on! Play fair!"

He reaches farther, and she once again makes it elude his grasp.

"Grrrr" Taruto growls laughing and grabs her by the waist. They begin wrestling for it, and it doesn't take long for Taruto to pin her down. Feeling victorious, he reaches for the piece, but is forced to stop when he feels her free a hand and begin tickling his side. He doubles over limp, and she escapes his hold, dashing down the hallway.

"Not fair!" he calls as he rights himself and flies after her. At the end of the hall, he finds himself at three rooms. The play room, a bathroom, and the room he had been using. He takes a peek in each one, but doesn't see Lindsay. _Oh I'll find you, Monkey... _

He enters his room first, careful not to make a sound. His shadow precedes him into the dark room. He searches behind the bed, then the dresser. Last, he turns to the closet, but as soon as he opens it, he catches a flash of light out of the corner of his eye. He rushes out just in time to see Purin hop out of the window of the play room. By the time he reaches the window, she is already in the backyard. He watches her leap into the tree house.

Taruto flies out of the window to join her. When he enters, he finds two sleeping bags, an oil lamp, and snacks. He sees a Lindsay-sized bump in one of the sleeping bags. Taruto blushes and starts to leave, but he feels a hand grab his ankle. The hand lets go and slinks back into the sleeping bag.

"Let's sleep here tonight." the bump says.

Taruto slips into the other sleeping bag, very conscious of the girl in the one next to him. He stays still for a few moments before turning to her. He finds himself face to face with Lindsay. She grabs his arm and coaxes him out of the sleeping bag. She then unzips both hers and his so they create two large blankets instead. Finally, she lays one down and the other on top to create a giant bed.

"Lindsay, um..." Taruto starts, red as a cherry.

"Can I be selfish?" she asks, unable to look him in the eye. "If this is our last night, I want to spend it in your arms."

"You don't mean..."

She turns red too and shakes her arms. "I'm not ready for that! But... can I sleep next to you?"

"I'm not a little boy... and I like you... and I might not be able to stop... and-"

"I trust you." She looks down. "I know it's selfish, but I want no regrets if I die tomorrow."

Silence ensues.

Taruto gives her a quick kiss on the head as he moves under the sleeping bag, turned to the wall. She follows, facing him. They stay like that for a while.

"May I hold you?" Taruto asks slowly.

"Mmmhmm," Lindsay responds. He turns over and wraps his arms around her. She lays against his chest, and they fall asleep.


	27. Chapter 27

_**Chapter 27: Please Don't Let Me Go Part II**_

Ahimsa sits on a bench half a block from the cafe, dying to round the corner, and see Shirogane. She couldn't say she loved him, but she wanted to be with him. There was something about his expression the last time she came that had haunted her for the last month. She literally thought about it every day. In fact, that painful expression was probably the reason she forgave him.

She'd deduced he was putting on an act of strength, but all the time, he was resented himself for his decision. Like the anime character, he placed everything on himself. The other Mews didn't want to bother more with him than they had to, but she found herself wanting to be the one he could come to when he was in pain. _Few people can feel joy sending a bunch of young people into such a fight._ She knew it must have been the only choice.

She tightens her fists. _But I can't see him yet. Not until I know I want him for more than just this._

And so she sits in the cold. It begins to snow.

Pai and Sofia sit in the empty kraft services trailer.

"... and Fritos... and oreos... What do you want these for?" Sofia asks, emptying a grocery bag.

Pai smiles to himself. "You don't remember our first date?"

"Nothing that involves all these snacks," she replies, curious. "Let me think..." she takes a few minutes before realizing, "Oh! When you got kicked out the first time you wandered in our trailer park!"

He smiles, pulling her toward him. She sits on his lap, and he wraps his arms around her. She opens a bag of Oreos and sticks one half between her lips and moves toward him. He bites off half, and they share it.

"Was that really a date?" Sofia asks snickering, "I felt sorry for you, so I brought you some snacks to cheer you up."

"To a little boy it was! A beautiful princess sharing a mountain of snacks with you is definitely a date." he gives her a light hug.

"Why don't we go out and get something to eat?" she suggests.

He lays against her chest, "Let's not. Some fan will see you and stop you, and... tonight, I want you all to myself."

She blushes. "Daniel, you're-" she can't continue. She can't tell him he's being weird. She knows they could die tomorrow. Real life villains are not subject to the "happy ending" principles of magical girl manga.

He looks up at her, completely serious. "Sofia," he starts.

She had never before seen this expression. "Yes?"

"If we survive tomorrow," his face turns red as he seems to give up. _I can't even get a job due to this appearance. I don't even have the right to ask._

Sofia puts a hand on each side of his face and forces him to look at her. "What? Please tell me."

He regains some of his courage. "Sofia... if we survive tomorrow... would you marry me?"

"Yes!"

Pai places a small ring on her finger, nothing expensive, but something to show their connection.

They kiss each other ecstatically, trying not to think about the difficulties of such a marriage.

They move to Sofia's room, and he pushes her down on the bed as they continue to make out. Pai suddenly pulls back. "So-"

"Don't even think about it!" she starts, angrily. "I know you are going to make so many excuses. My reputation. My career. You can't get a job now that you look like this. It's not like you have a choice! I've accepted you, and I love you. Why can't you let that be-"

"Let's get married tonight."

"Huh?"

"I want you to be completely mine."

"Are you joking? Right n-..." she sees the struggle in his eyes. "And how do you suppose we can do that at 10:00 at night?"

"I know someone licensed to perform marriages... though he may be dead by now..."

Sofia lies beneath him, too shocked to do anything but laugh. "Let's go!" He lifts her up, and they exit. Once they've escaped the park she looks at him.

"David, do you not want to have sex with me? I mean, you always sleep on the couch... and we were kinda close just now..."

Embarrassed, he doesn't turn to her, but continues to run. "I... want to... but... haven't you... I have no experience... and..."

She punches his arm, so he stops and stares at her, "I've waited for you! I've never been with any other guy! I... wanted to give you all my... firsts..."

They remember being kids in the recording studio, and the kiss they shared. He realizes she had taken that as an implied promise. Touched, he hugs her, then grabs her arm, and they keep running.

Ichigo and The Blue Knight sit against a tree near the school late into the night, not saying a word. She lay against his shoulder, and he against her head. Neither needed to say anything, they both knew what the other was thinking.

Would they survive this stronger Deep Blue? What exactly is Vortex? How would he become Deep Blue? What would happen afterward? If they do survive, would he still have the power to fight alongside Ichigo?

For hours, neither said anything. Neither could fall asleep, and neither had anything to say. They just wanted to spend every last minute together.


	28. Chapter 28

_**Chapter 28: It Will All Come to Pass Part I**_

The next day found the Mews and Knights ready to act at any moment. Lindsay, Ahimsa, Nagia, and Iva were in school while Sofia filmed a commercial. Shortly after 11:00am, the first explosion started. Willis tower had been the victim of a man with the power to throw bombs. At 11:02am, the Bean was reported rolling down Michigan Avenue. By 11:05am, the Museum of Science and Industry was under water in what appeared to be a bubble. A chubby kid floated above it, laughing. At the exact same time, the Cultural Center was experiencing robberies by multiples of the same girl blonde girl in a huge pink bow.

Chicago was in panic, people scampered to get out of the way.

The Mews and Knights arrived around 11:30am, ready for action. They immediately noticed Vortex, floating above the city, watching the citizens, and appearing as though he was waiting for something.

"Green team! Museum!" Ichigo orders. "Blue team! Sears Tower! Yellow Team! The Bean! Purple Team! Cultural Center!" They all run off to their assignments, leaving the Blue Knight and Ichigo staring at Vortex. As if he could feel their glances, he turns to them. He was waiting for them. Part of Ichigo knew it would be the end if they approached Vortex, but she also knew if they didn't approach him, he would come for them.

She grabs The Blue Knights hand. He squeezes her hand and gives her a warm smile. "Whatever happens, remember. Aoyama came back to Ichigo."

She nods and they begin to leap together from building to building, nearing Vortex.

"Ichigo!" The two turn to see Kisshu as he catches up to them. "I'll back you up."

The two look at him for a moment, shocked at his bravery before nodding.

_Just a few more buildings..._ Ichigo laments petrified of what will happen.

They finally reach Vortex, and stand before him, side by side in battle poses. He lands on top of the building and begins to approach the Blue Knight, but Kisshu and Ichigo stand between them. "We will not let you get anywhere near him!" Ichigo announces, trying to sound confident, but painfully aware they haven't been able to fight anything thus far.

They hear the muffled sound of laughter as they stare into the emptiness beneath the cape. He stops 10 feet away from them and raises up his empty left sleeve.

From inside, they can see the silhouette of an arm begin to take shape.

"Ahhh!" The Blue Knight screams and grabs his left arm. Ichigo runs to him as Kisshu stands between them. She stares at his arm as it seems to shrivel away. She watches horrified as muscles, veins, and bones are exposed. He falls to the ground and writhes in pain, grasping his arm. Ichigo screams. Kisshu runs toward Vortex, but is pushed away with such force as if he were only a ragdoll.

The arm continues to come into shape inside the sleeve. Within moments, the Blue Knight no longer has any trace of a left arm. Vortex moves his fingers. Satisfied, a leg begins to emerge from his abyss.

Ichigo lunges toward him, throwing a ball of fire, but he takes it in, dispelling it in his black hole body. He breaks into laughter as he finishes one leg and moves on to the other.

Ichigo cradles The Blue Knight as he writhes and screams. It seems like forever before he completely disappears, and Deep Blue takes shape before them.

Ichigo struggles to stand, the vision of Andrew suffering etched in her mind. Kisshu, bruised, and with broken bones sits on his knees, breathing heavily.

Ichigo looks Deep Blue in the eyes, expecting to see some trace of Andrew or the Blue Knight, but the gaze he gives her fills her body with chills. His eyes laughed and his face was turned into a contorted smile. He enjoyed her pain. He enjoyed Kisshu's pain. He enjoyed Andrew's pain. She falls to her knees and averts her eyes, struck by the realization she had looked pure evil straight in the eyes.

"Ichigo!"

She had averted her eyes too long. Before she could turn, she felt something smash against her like a ton of bricks. She fell back several meters hitting a roof duct forcefully. She feels something crack in her arm, and clutches it tightly. Only a second passes before she feels another impact that sends her flying into the sky. She lands hard, coughing blood. She sees Deep Blue approach her, face bathed in ecstacy. She struggles to raise herself up, but her arm won't support her. She uses her other arm to create a burst of fire, but he dispels it with one hand. She tries her best to move out of his path, but he stands right in front of her. He places one hand on her broken arm and precedes to put all his weight on it.

"Ahhh!" Ichigo cries. _I've come here to die! _

Deep Blue holds up the item to create chimera anima. He poises his arm to throw it at Ichigo.

_Help! Please! I've underestimated him! Please! Someone!_ She feels Kisshu lie over her. There is a flash of light, and he seems to become heavier. Ichigo watches as he changes into a chimera anima. He gains the body of a tiger, larger ears, and giant wings like a bat. He moves off of her as he increases exponentially in size until he is as big as a skyscraper. He clutches his head as tries to keep control over himself.

A disturbing smile is etched all over Deep Blue's face. "Kisshu." he calls.

Kisshu immediately comes to attention.

"Kill her." he points to Ichigo.

She watches helplessly as he approaches her, jaws opening to reveal a giant row of sharp teeth.


	29. Chapter 29

_**Chapter 29: It Will All Come to Pass Part II**_

Dark Retasu and the Green Knight arrive at the museum facing the sickening sight of patrons struggling against the walls of the giant water bubble. They seemed to just float inside, panicking as they realize nails, knives, and other sharp objects are no use. Mothers push their children toward the top of the bubble, trying to give them a bit of final hope.

The Mew and Knight run to the base of the bubble. They can here the culprit yell out in laughter, "You can't burst my bubble! Oh! Look! I made a pun! Ha! Get it? 'Burst my bubble'?" he breaks out all over again in laughter.

"Retasu! Concentrate the water here! I'll cut it!"

Retasu struggles to pull all of the water toward the spot. "Hurry!" she screams as she strains against the walls of the enclosure. A part of it begins to protrude forward from the weight of the water.

The Green Knight materializes two, giant double-sided sabres. He winds them up and concentrates on the bulging area. He slices it, causing water to gush out along with the museum-goers.

"You!" the tormentor screams as he flies toward them. He materializes water-filled gloves and takes a punch at Shirogane. He dodges and swings one of the blades at him. The boy twists and catches his blade in one of the bubbles. It encompasses it, causing The Green Knight to have to let go. He can only watch as his weapon is absorbed and dropped. The child recovers the hand with another bubble.

Meanwhile, Retasu sets to helping the citizens. She almost cries as she hears the cries of mothers and children as they struggle to bring their loved ones back to consciousness. Retasu hurries to remove the water from as many people as she can as fast as she can, but as soon as she finishes with one person, 10 more come her way. When she finally finishes with those outside, she shudders as she hears the wails of those still inside the museum.

She runs inside to see as many people lying on the floor as those crying for them. She runs an older woman in a wheelchair with two clear tubes in each nostril. Next to her cries a little girl screaming, "Nana! Nana!" while sitting next to a tube and an oxygen tank. Retasu touches her hand to the woman's chest, and tries to remove any water, but there isn't much at all. She then connects the oxygen to the tubes and listens for a heartbeat. The little girl watches her, filled with hope. They seemed to stay in that moment, separated from all the cries around them.

Retasu hears nothing. She stares into the eyes of the girl, frozen, yet knowing she needed to see if any others could be saved. She bursts into tears, and embraces the child as the child once again cries for her grandmother.

Retasu forces herself to get up again as she moves to the next group, determined to save at least one more life.

Outside, Shirogane has barely been able to hold onto his other sabre. His opponent now bears deep gashes on his arms, but is so enraged, he seems as though he doesn't even notice. Both breathe heavily. The boy approaches him, eyes focused on death. Both watch each other, aware that this will be their final blow. They both leap.

They land, and the evil child falls, dead, his expression radiating a sadistic joy in his final pain.

Shirogane falls, clutching his bleeding side. He hears the cries within the building, and forces himself to enter.

Minto flies holding The Indigo Knight as they approach the top of Willis Tower. Along the way, the Blue Knight throws shuriken to disarm the falling bombs. They reach the top to see a man dressed completely in red with cannons for arms who doesn't seem to notice them. He points his arms to the sky and shoots out bombs. Anton shoots them down with his shuriken while Dark Minto uses ice shards. This alerts the villain to their presence.

He floats down in front of them, seemingly without legs. Without a word, he points the cannons toward them. He smiles. "Bang" he mouths as they face a flood of bombs. Minto puts up several walls of ice which protect them. She struggles to continue creating them fast enough to stop the increasing fire of bombs.

Anton puts his hand on her shoulder. "I need you to cover me, Minto. Can you do that?" he asks, knowing it would bring her stress.

She looks at him, determined not to pull down the team. "Of course I can," she announces with unwavering confidence. "Let's take him down."

The Indigo Knight nods to her. He leaps above the walls. The Man of Cannons follows him with one arm and continues to bombard Minto with the other. She screams as she continues making the walls with one hand while shielding the Indigo Knight.

_That's my girl_. He thinks as he creates a hundred shuriken. The amount makes him dizzy, but he lands almost seamlessly behind the Cannon. He then shoots all of the shuriken in a straight line right back at him.

Minto, behind him, begins to shoot lines of ice shards.

Eventually, both enter the cannons. The Cannon Man tries to escape once he realizes the plan, but it is too late. He explodes, and both members of the Blue Team collapse, completely out of breath.

Zakuro and The Purple Knight arrive at the Cultural Center to see a one-person army. Hundreds of the same exact human being stole priceless pieces of the atrium and important artifacts.

They race through the entrance and up the gigantic staircase.

"If we can only find the original!" Zakuro suggests.

When they reach the top, they are forced to stop as the duplicates gather to attack. Pai arms himself with two sharp tessen. Zakuro allows her energy to swirl around her wrists. The two scan the clones, searching for some sort of clue as to who the real one is.

Finally, Zakuro snaps. She lets out a burst of energy that travels all over the foyer. They watch as the energy passes through all of them.

The Purple Knight feels something on his hand. Blood. Both he and Zakuro look up just in time to see two of the clones approach them, sword in each hand. They duck just in time to avoid death.

"Which one's real?" Pai calls out, leaping over the rail.

"Dunno!" Zakuro responds, sidestepping a blow.

Pai lands a hit on his opponent, causing her to bleed. "This one's real!"

At the same time, Zakuro also lands a blow square in the chest, causing hers to double back. "So's this one!"

For a while, they fight back and forth, seeming to be at a standstill until they find they have been cornered, back to back.

"Wanna try it?" Pai asks as the girls approach.

"Let's do it."

Pai grabs Zakuro's shoulders and gives her a rough, but passionate kiss. The room explodes with light, stopping the twins in their tracks. The two emerge in their angelic forms, Zakuro in white, with white hair and a purple streak and Pai also in white with a purple sash around his waist, hand in hand.

They revel in their power, and thoroughly feel it from their head to their feet.

When the girls see them, they step backwards, shaking with fear.

"Oh this is it." Pai's cat-like eyes become brighter as he approaches his opponent.

Zakuro's wolf-like nature shines even as she walks in the long, elegant white dress toward her opponent.

Each raise their hand and shoot a white energy blast at them, causing all of the neutralized duplicated before to disappear. Both girls lie sleeping on the floor.

Meanwhile, Purin and The Yellow Knight frantically chase the bean down Michigan Avenue. People scream, abandoning automobiles left and right as the sculpture flattens cars and trucks alike.

"Look!" Purin points to a wall down the way. "It should stop there!"

"Thank goodness..." Taruto laments, flying while carrying Purin, and adjusting her position for the third time.

The bean reaches the end with a smash, and stops, but for only a second. It turns and takes off down the Metra train tracks.

"Did you see that!" Purin asks astonished.

Taruto forces himself to keep moving. "It's alive!" he wails.

In the distance, they hear a train whistle. They look down the tracks to see a Metra heading straight for the bean.

"TARUTO! FASTER!" Purin screams in his ear.

"I'M GOING AS FAST AS I CAN!" he yells back.

"Mew Mew Purin! Me-ta-mo-ri-pho-sis!" she yells as she changes from Dark Purin to her normal Mew form. "Taruto, I need you to take me up!"

"Got it!" He flies higher into the sky.

"Almost... Almost...Throw me!"

"Huh!"

"Throw me! Hurry!"

He throws her forward.

"Purin ring! INFERNO!" She traps the bean, successfully bringing it to a stop, saving the train. "EEEYAAAAAAAAA!" she screams as she falls toward the ground.

Taruto speeds toward her.

"Oof!" they both exclaim as they collide, and he rescues her mere meters from the ground. In their nervousness, they just laugh.

"Look!" Taruto points to the Inferno. Cracks were beginning to form.

Purin turns to Taruto, grabs his face, and kisses him. Within seconds, they access their Angelic forms, and face the Inferno. A few seconds later, our of the bean emerges a giant man with arms like a gorilla. He pounds the ground, making it shake.

The Mew and Knight nod to each other and point their hands to him. He looks up and immediately runs toward the bean, but does not make it before a burst of light does, turning him back into a human form and causing him to fall asleep.

Having completed their missions, the mews turn toward the Dome. Where each knows the final battle has already begin.


	30. Chapter 30

_**Chapter 30: It Will All Come to Pass Part III**_

Ichigo cringes for only a second before willing herself to face the beast. _If I die, I won't do it shivering like a mouse._ Her cat eyes seem to glow defiantly as the chimera anima opens its mouth. Just as it is about to bite her, the ground beneath them begins to quake, and the giant monster starts to fall through. It struggles to grab onto anything as the building falls to pieces.

A crack appears beneath Ichigo and begins to open. She uses her good arm to grab onto a nearby pole to steady herself. She braces herself to fall as she watches Deep Blue float over the city toward the dome.

Ichigo feels the ground beneath her give, and dangles above the collapsing chasm. Far beneath her, she can see the Kisshu monster rise up livid. He watches her dangle, anxiously hoping she will fall.

Ichigo holds on tighter and prepares to swing to the last area of remaining concrete on the roof. She pumps her legs back and forth. _3...2...1_ she swings with all of her might, but the ledge collapses under the weight of her body. She falls rapidly toward the gaping mouth below.

_I am going to die!_ She thinks panicking, but forces herself to focus. _If I die, he's going down with me._

"Strawberry bell!" she yells. "Strawberry surpri- oof!" she finds herself in the arms of Pai in his angelic form. He brings her up through the building as it collapses around them, trapping the monster in a cage. At the top, they find Zakuro, Purin, and Taruto ready to fight. In the distance, they see Retasu, the Green Knight, the Indigo Knight, and Minto nearing the dome.

"Thanks," Ichigo says as she checks again to make sure the beast is stuck.

"Your arm!" Taruto notices.

"I'm fine." Ichigo walks forward. "Let's go!" Ichigo announces, determined to put an end to this.

Minto reaches the dome's entrance first. Much to their surprise, it's open. They enter cautiously, and find a flimsy, winding staircase that leads all the way to the top. Minto grabs the Indigo Knight, and they start to head up to the top, but are immediately stopped by a being that was in the shape of a woman, but had the head of an eagle. As they approach it, they can't help but think how beautiful it is. Until it opens its mouth, revealing rows of canine teeth, dripping with drool. They set to attacking immediately.

At the same time, a worm-like creature with equally gruesome chompers breaks through the ground putting the Green Team on offensive.

By the time the other Mews and Knights arrive, both teams were engaged in heated battles.

The newcomers start to assist, but are interrupted by the sound of Deep Blue's laughter above. They leave the bird and worm monsters to attack the source. They finally get to the top of the staircase, only to find an area that looked like the inside of an army boat. People and monsters scurried everywhere, seeming to ignore them, so they continued on toward Deep Blue.

Ichigo looks at the faces of those running past. She sees people of all ages, some with animal-like features. Few appeared completely human.

One caught her attention. He came from the farthest room, an area that seemed to be covered in darkness. None of the others seemed to mind him, but Ichigo found him strangely captivating, as if he had reached into her very soul and demanded her attention. She couldn't take her eyes off of him. His skin was like paper, and his hair like fire. He was what one would call beautiful, but even that would not warrant the type of concentration he warranted.

As she watches him, Ichigo feels every wrongdoing in the world come rushing to her consciousness. She re-experiences every feeling of guilt, betrayal, and anger she has ever felt in her life all at once. She falls to the ground, shivering. The others gather around her, but she doesn't look at them. She faces the man, and he turns to her, his eyes clear and beautiful, but his soul covered in a darkness several times thicker than tar.

She sees him snicker as he escapes down the hall with the others. _I have to catch him! He cannot run around free! _she thinks, but her entire body works against her will. She didn't want to be near him. By the time she gains the ability to stand, he is already gone.

"Ichigo, are you okay? Can you go on?" Purin asks worried.

Ichigo nods. "Yeah, I'm fine. Let's go."

Finally, they reach the end of the corridor, finding two giant doors. Somehow, they all knew Deep Blue was on the other side.

_This is it._

Ichigo pushes open the door.


	31. Chapter 31

_**Chapter 31: Goodbye, Blue Knight**_

Ichigo pushes open the door instantly aware they had entered an alternate dimension, Purin and Taruto following on her left and Zakuro and Pai on her right. Her eyes shine with determination, resolved to bring back Andrew.

Her eyes meet Deep Blue's head on. They enter, and the door shuts behind them with a loud boom.

Deep Blue stands upon an elevated area in the room. He raises his right hand causing spikes to protrude from all of the walls. Ichigo never lets her focus stray from her opponent.

"Mew Mew Strawberry. Me-ta-mo-ri-pho-sis." she says as she turns into her regular form. The others look at her, with questioning glances, but say nothing when they look at her face. It radiates a deep sadness, but also peace.

Seeing this, Deep Blue races toward them, eyes betraying his intent to kill. Taruto in his angelic form tries to stop him, but is harshly thrown to the side. He almost hits the wall, but is saved barely by Purin. One of the spikes grazes his back. He winces, and blood stains his costume.

Pai and Zakuro leap onto his back, attempting to put him in a hold. Deep Blue grabs Zakuro's arm and throws her across the room. Pai follows, wrapping his body around her so that he takes the impact. Somehow, he is able to position himself between the spikes. They look up expecting to see Ichigo in a panicked fight all alone, but she hasn't budged. They watch in terror as Deep Blue grabs her by the neck. Ichigo's eyes remain closed, even as she tries to pry his hands off of her neck.

"Ichigo!" Purin screams as she, Zakuro, and the Knights race toward her, but they know they cannot make it in time.

Ichigo opens her eyes, focusing solely on Deep Blue. He convulses. His eyes open wide as he realizes her plan. Andrew's soul begins to separate itself, and Deep Blue begins struggling with himself. Tighter he squeezes her neck. Then loosens his grip. Then tighter again. He finally drops her, and she watches him shake.

Ichigo stands cradling her neck just as the others near Deep Blue to attack, but she holds out her good arm to motion for them to stop. They look at her astonished and join her. She coughs a couple times, then says, "Before he comes to, I need you to shoot your powers into me."

"What!" Purin starts.

Zakuro puts a hand on her shoulder, "Ichigo, do you realize you could die? That's too much power for your body in this form!"

Ichigo brushes away her arm, and watches Deep Blue. "That's the only way. I need to magnify the power of my Strawberry Bell."

"No!" Purin yells. "Let's go!" she motions, and Zakuro and the Knights follow her. They raise their arms and fire their light attacks at Deep Blue, but he raises his arm. It becomes like Vortex's body and absorbs their power completely.

At that moment, Retasu, Shirogane, Minto, and Anton burst in, exhausted. They watch as the last bit of light is absorbed.

"He took it all in..." Retasu says full of dismay. "We haven't even been able to transform that high... And he's that strong..." She falls to the ground, tired from the last fight and feeling defeated in this one.

The blast helped to resolve the conflict within Deep Blue. He stands there, breathing heavily, but still strong.

Ichigo approaches the group of Mews and Knights. "Blue Team. Green Team. I need you to hold him off. Purple Team. Yellow Team. Please. Give me the power."

"No, Ichigo. You can't mean-" Minto pleads.

Deep Blue begins to approach them again.

Ichigo smiles at her. "Go!" she yells.

The Green Knight, Retasu, Minto, and The Indigo Knight charge toward Deep Blue and create a great wall of Ice. Deep Blue waves his hand and breaks through it. Shards fly everywhere, but are quickly destroyed by The Green Knight and the Indigo Knight. Another wall is immediately built by Minto and Retasu. _We're counting on you, Ichigo!_

Behind them, Zakuro, The Purple Knight, Purin, and The Yellow Knight prepare to fire.

Purin struggles to hold back tears.

"Strawberry Bell!" The weapon appears in front of her. "Now!" Ichigo yells as they let their powers fly into her. Almost immediately, she begins to shake. The light inside her is so bright that her skin begins to glow from the inside out. They look at her, hoping she will tell them to stop, but she does just the opposite. "More!" she calls. They focus their power even more, and her whole body begins to glow. Ichigo screams as one of the rays escapes her side forming a large gash. She forces her broken arm over it as she grasps the Strawberry Bell with the good one. Her hair begins to lengthen. She cringes as another ray escapes through her back.

"Ichigo!" Zakuro calls. "Don't you think that's enough!"

Ichigo watches as Deep Blue becomes more and more enraged. He punches down the walls again and again. Each time Minto and Retasu make them, they look more and more exhausted, but they will themselves on.

_Not enough power yet. Not if I want to bring back Andrew!_

"I know that-" she gasps. "isn't all you" she gasps again "got. More! GIVE ME EVERYTHING YOU GOT!" she screams at the top of her lungs. The strawberry bell begins to glow.

Zakuro, Pai, Taruto, and Purin scream as they put all of their power into Ichigo. The strawberry bell glows a brilliant white. Ichigo feels her heart beat rapidly, and more rays escape her body, tearing her deeply each time.

She struggles to breath. "Re-member..." she gasps. "We are the... heroes. Remem... ber... to do... whate...ver it takes...Saving... the... world comes... first" She raises her weapon to scream out one last phrase. "STRAWBERRY! SURPRISE!" Deep Blue puts up his arm to absorb the light, but it fills up the darkness, and hits him straight on. He raises off the ground, trapped in the light. He screams as he is thrown through the walls and outside.

All the Mews run to Ichigo, now Nagia, who lay on the ground, as the Knights rush outdoors.

"Nagia! Nagia!" Minto yells as they try to rouse her.

At that moment, a red light begins to flash, and the ground suddenly cracks, causing the whole building to collapse. Minto grabs Nagia, and all the Mews land safely on the ground. They watch as huge structure falls to complete ruin.

Retasu grabs Nagia and shakes her, crying, "Nagia! Wake up! Please!" Zakuro pulls her back, tears in her own eyes.

"It's our fault." Purin wails. "We let her do this. We-"

"Don't say that!" Minto admonishes. "Don't you ever say that!" she pushes Purin, but falls in her lap, sobbing. "Nagia..."

"Nagia?"

The Mews look up to see Andrew, now The Red Knight. He rushes over to her, and they move away.

"Kiss her! Hurry!" Purin cries. They gather around as he lifts her up, and their lips connect. He moves away, and they wait. In the distance, they hear a loud noise, followed by a roar they recognized as the Kisshu chimera anima. Nagia doesn't move.

They look around to see a large crowd gathering. Sad faces surround the Mews and Knight as people remove hats and pay respects to their savior.

"Kiss her again!" Purin pleads. The Red Knight does. They wait, but still no movement.

"Excuse me! Coming through! AHO News!" a crew tries to get through. "Hey!" they yell as one of the people in the crowd pretends to "accidently" bump into them. Then, another follows suit. Soon, the whole crowd was determined not to let the crew get through. They create a human baracade, threatening to sue if the crew gets too close.

They see flashing lights followed by men in white as they push through the crowd with a stretcher. One kneels beside Nagia and places two fingers on her neck. "We have a pulse." he announces. "But it's weak. Let's get her to the ambulance." Carefully, they load her up.

Andrew starts to go along, but then he stops.

"What are you doing! Go with her!" Minto yells.

He looks at her and gives her a sad smile. "I heard the last thing she told you all. 'Do whatever it takes. Saving the world comes first' I think if she knew we were worrying about her instead of stopping that chimera anima, she'd be livid." he turns toward the sound. "The other knights are already fighting. Let's hurry up and win so we can see Nagia when she wakes up."

The girls watch him with admiration, noting the fear in his eyes.

They then take off to the sound of applause from the crowd.


	32. Chapter 32

_**Chapter 32: To Save the World**_

The Red Knight and the Mews arrive to find nothing short of a masacre. The other Knights struggled unsuccessfully against the Kisshu chimera anima. Kisshu's eyes cried for help. For release of this prison and the pain he was causing. His body rises as it tries to flatten Shirogane. He rolls out of the way, just in time. The monster whirls and tries to squish him again, but Retasu helps move his exhausted body to safety behind the other Mews.

Each Mew transforms into their original Mew forms.

"I wish Ichigo were here!" Retasu cries.

Minto glares at her, "Well she's not! Focus!" She glances over to see Zakuro's hand, and the gold band on her ring finger. She scans Pai's hand to see the same thing. She slaps her face. _You too, Minto! Focus!_

Andrew steps up to the plate, "The first thing to do is rescue all the Knights. Mews! Get them to safety!"

Purin, Minto, and Zakuro set to rescue their Knights. They dodge legs, tails, and teeth in their efforts, but eventually make it back behind The Red Knight.

The chimera anima goes into a rage and charges. Weighed down by the Knights, only Zakuro is able to clear the attack. The others feel a sharp pain radiate through their bodies as they are thrown several meters away. They land hard on the ground. Zakuro sets the weakened Pai in the doorway of one of the skyscrapers, then stands beside The Red Knight. He looks around, taking inventory of those who are left to fight. The injured Mews slowly rise.

"We can still fight," Purin forces herself to say.

"I need one unified blast," he announces. "All of your strength!" He charges toward the beast. "Right on his head...NOW!"

"Purin ring! INFERNO!"

"Zakuro SPEAR!"

"Lettuce RUSH!"

"Minto ARROW!"

The blast combines and hits the monster on the head, causing it to double back. The Red Knight follows with a powerful smash with his sword in the same spot. The beast falls to the ground. But only for a minute. It stands up, angrier than ever. It towers over the Red Knight.

"Transform into your angelic forms!" he orders, backing up.

"The Knights are too weak!" Retasu yells back before collapsing herself. "I'm sorry. We..." What they had done to beat Deep Blue had already worn them out. They had no more energy to fight another boss.

Kisshu lifts his great clawed paw and reaches to grab The Red Knight, but he leaps out of the way just in time. The monster tries again with the same result. Again and again, The Red Knight barely eludes him, escaping by less and less each time. Andrew begins to breath hard. Kisshu reaches out yet again, but this time, catches his prey by the leg. The Red Knight tries to free himself, but cannot fight against the tight grasp.

Minto uses the last of her energy to shoot an arrow, but it misses the beast by only centimeters.

At that moment, Vortex walks into view, his powers obviously weekend. His appearance has changed from what was a black hole to something akin to a ripple in time. He flashes in and out like an unfocused television. He wobbles as he walks, spurred on by fury. He points to The Red Knight. "Kill him." He laughs a toothy laugh, then coughs. For a second, he completely disappears, then comes into view, still flickering.

The Red Knight comes face to face to several lines of drool-covered fangs. He struggles again, but once more without success. He tries to cut the hand with his sword, but it won't penetrate. _I'm sorry, Ichigo._

Nagia finds herself in a glass prison, watching her friends fight without her. She yells every time they are hit, until finally no one gets up again. She screams, but none of her friends even answer. Then, she feels it. Like she's stuck in a dream. If only she could make herself wake up. _I have to save them._

Nagia forces herself to rise in her room, startling the doctors around her. They attempt to check her vitals, but she pushes them away with immense force. She gets up, ripping the IV's from her arm.

"Ichigo. Henshin."

She becomes Dark Ichigo, eyes glowing with determination. She doesn't even notice the screws in her arm or the cuts all over her body. No one tries to stop her as she exits the ER. Half of her face begins to flicker between that of a hairless cat with bright red eyeshine. Her broken arm flickers between her normal arm and a longer version that has the texture of a burn victim's and claws as thick as talons. She flexes her fingers and leaps out the window.

The Red Knight cringes, waiting to feel the monster's teeth. But instead, he feels a blast throw him and the beast to the side. It lets him go, groaning. He looks up, expecting to see one of the Mews or Knights, but instead sees the horrifying half-version of Ichigo. She raises her taloned arm and emits a powerful dark blast. Kisshu is pushed back again.

"Ichigo! Stop!" Retasu calls out, but Ichigo doesn't hear.

All the Mews begin yelling at her at once as she throws blast after blast at the chimera anima.

"We need to save him! He's still Kisshu!"

"Ichigo! This isn't you!"

The Red Knight runs to her. "Ichigo!" he calls, trying to snap her out of it. She throws another blast. "Ichigo!" She doesn't respond. He grabs her and kisses her. For a moment, it seems as though nothing would change, but slowly the changed parts of her begin to fade, and she collapses in his arms.

"An.. drew?" she starts. She looks around. "What have I done? I-" She looks into The Red Knight's eyes. He kisses her lips again gently. The sound of the monster rising behind them.

"Let's save Kisshu," Andrew whispers. They kiss again and transform into their angelic states.

"I'm so-" she looks down, then feels The Red Knight's hand in hers.

He smiles at her. "I also know a thing or two about transforming and doing something I regret." He tugs her hand toward the beast. "Let's make things right."

They hold hands and face their other palms toward him, then form the blast. It flows through the monster, but doesn't change it. The beast gets up again.

They prepare to fire again, but stop when they see its expression.

It smiles at them. Kisshu's smile. "It's ok." he says. "I've known this would be the end."

"Kisshu..."

He turns to the flickering Vortex, who knowing he was going to die, had been increasing the size of his time rift to do immense final damage to the world. He faces Kisshu. Kisshu approaches him.

"What are you doing!" Ichigo calls.

"His body won't be able to stand taking in something as big as me yet."

"No!" Ichigo calls, and tries to run toward him, but Andrew pulls her back. "Kisshu!"

"It's ok." he smiles. "I knew today would be the end." He runs toward Vortex, who can't close the rift in time. Kisshu enters, and Vortex's body begins to flicker more than ever.

Ichigo falls to her knees, sobbing. "Kisshu..." she says as he begins to disappear.

"Thanks for crying for me, Ichigo."

He and Vortex vanish.

Ichigo wipes her eyes and turns around to see everyone staring at her. The crowd, the Mews, and the Knights. She looks into their eyes to see a deep admiration. The Red Knight stands next to her, and hugs her close with one arm. She looks up at him, then back to the crowd. At once, people begin to kneel, as if it were the most natural thing to do. Before long, everyone was either kneeling toward Ichigo and The Red Knight or clapping.

Ichigo takes a deep breath and looks to the sky, fully realizing for the first time that a new era had begun. A new era led and protected by the Mews and Knights. She breathes out, then waves. Determined to protect the people from whomever created these monsters.

High above them, perched on The Hancock Building sat a woman dressed entirely in a bright orange. She rests her head on one arm, and grins at the sight below. In her hand, she holds a stack of deeds labeled Deep Blue Bank.

"My dear, Mew Ichigo. You've only shown me a little bit of that beautiful new form. Ahh...I really want to see more." She opens her mouth as wide as the cheshire cat, revealing two rows of sharp teeth. "No worries, Ichigo. I'll come play with you real soon."

**THE END**


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